Chinese Storm
by Gamer83888
Summary: Witches gets into middle of war between the Coalition formed of Europe, Asia, Brazil, Egypt, Australia and USA on one side and the People Republic of China on the other one. They also become the students of so-called Military High Schools. Will they handle the live as normal soldiers, high school students and will they...find the true love?
1. Chapter 1

**This is the connection of SW with other universe created by me: Military High School. And before someone say ,,What's interesting is in Military High Schools?", let me explain. Those Military High Schools are not like those from real life. MHS universe Military High Schools are special schools, placed on giant version of Modern Era aircraft carriers (idea borrowed from ,,Girls und Panzers") or on huge areas on land in case of inland nations. Every Military High School work a little like regular army. It means: in such schools rank is important (only teachers, school workers and headmaster don't use ranks), schools have a real military equipment in it's arsenal and students took part in foreign missions of their country (except of First Year students, only students from years 2 to 4 took part in them, but when the country is attacked, every student, no matter on which year he is, must fight).**

Chapter 1

,,Worlds Collision"

Our Universe

June 11, 2022

06:35

Atlantic Ocean, Polish Army High School carrier ORP _Cracow_ , Room 1321

The room was no different from the others rooms in the school. It was a square room, with some shelfs on the walls. On every shelf was something: photos, books such as ,,Jurassic Park", ,,Awaking Leviathan Part 2", ,,Caliban War", DVD's and other such things. In one of the wall there was a built-in wardrobe and there was a desk under the window with a computer, books for different lessons and a lamp. However, there was a backpack under the desk. On the wall opposite the bed hung a board with received medals and TV with a DVD player on the dresser.

A young boy with short black hair and blue eyes was laying at the bed. He was dressed in blue T-Shirt and dark blue shorts. He didn't heard that someone is approaching his bed until…

"GOOD MORNING!"shouted a young female voice.

The boy jumped up and before he knew, he landed on the floor. When he looked at the voice owner, he saw a laughing girl with Asian face features. She has black hair tied in a bun, green eyes and she was dressed in purple nightdress with a red heart in the middle.

"Hisako. I could guess that"the boy said.

"Sorry. Really sorry, Krystian. But…"she couldn't stop laughing"but I it was more powerful than me".

"No, it's nothing"Krystian said."But don't do it again".

"Okay. I'll never do it again. Maybe".

And they both laughed. When they stopped, Krystian asked:

"Besides. Why are you waking me up?"

"You know. I just wanted to remind you that today, before the lessons, is the special briefing. I don't wanted you to oversleep".

"Okay. Give me few seconds. I need to change".

"Sure. I'll go change too".

And she left the room. Meanwhile, Krystian came up to the wardrobe and opened it. He took a Polish gala uniform and dressed it. Next, he pulled a dark green beret with navy blue rim, symbolizing that the soldier belong to Mechanized Troops unit.

" _It's good that we don't have to wear those berets mandatory_ "he though putting the beret in his backpack between some books.

When he went out into the corridor, he saw Hisako already waiting for him. She dissolved her hair, except of the one ponytail on the left side of her head. She was wearing the female version of Polish gala uniform, and a beret with dark red rim.

This color of rim in Polish Army belonged to Field Medics and soldiers of medical units.

"You're ready?"Hisako asked.

"Let's see"Krystian said and opened the backpack."Wipes, books, beret and phone. Yes, I have everything. We can go".

As they were going towards their unit briefing room, Hisako said:

"Oh and one more thing. The Weather Team guys says, that there will be storm in the morning".

"He, he. Hisako. You know guys from the Weather Team. They almost always makes mistakes with weather report. I bet there will be no storm"Krystian downplayed.

"Eh. Maybe you're right"she sighted.

And they both go for the briefing.

SW Universe

June 11, 1945

07:56

Over the Adriatic Sea

The silence over the Sea was interrupted by the gunshots, as the 501st Joint Fighter Wing was engaging the Super-Heavy Type Neuroi. The battle was coming to an end, and Neuroi had evidently quite enough.

"Mio, where's the core?!"Minna asked her 2IC.

Mio took off her eye patch and started to looking for the core.

"It's on it's nose!"Mio replied.

"Alright! Shirley and Eila! Distract the Neuroi attention! Sanya! You will expose the core! Barkhorn and Hartmann! You will blow it up!"Minna ordered.

"Yes, Minna!"Witches replied.

And they started to do the plan. Shirley and Eila started to focusing Neuroi attention at them, next, Sanya fired a salvo of rockets and exposed the core. And, at the grand finale, Barkhorn and Hartmann flew towards the core, and after a few series, the Neuroi changed into thousands of white crystals. Witches grouped around Minna

"Good job, girls"Minna said."Now, return to…"

But she was cut off by Eila:

"Watch out!"

Suddenly, Witches were blinded by a blue light.

"What the…"Mio tried to say, but before it, Witches were absorbed by light.

Later…

Witches started to getting back the eyesight after the blue light. When they looked around, they stated that they are over the ocean.

"Great! First, the strange blue light, and now, we are in the middle of the ocean! What is going on here?!"Perrine shouted.

"Perrine-san, calm down. I'm sure we can explain what just happened"Yoshika said.

Perrine only looked at her and said:

"Calm?! How could I be calm?! We don't even know, where exactly we are!"

"Perrine, calm down right now!"Mio shouted.

"But Major…!"Perrine tried to say.

"No ,,but"! First, we have to find out where we are. Next…"

"Hey. Better look at this"Lynette said.

When everyone looked in the direction she pointed, they became speechless. In the distance, they could saw nine giant ships swimming in their direction. They looked like warships, but they were bigger than any other they saw. They also had something like mountains, fields, and even a little villages on their left sides.

"Wow…"Shirley said in awe.

"They're bigger than even than _Shinano_!"Yoshika exclaimed.

"They're even bigger than _Yamato_ , _Bismarck_ and _Hood_ connected together!"Barkhorn stated.

Mio looked at Minna.

"They didn't look like a Neuroi"the Fusoan Witch said.

"Yeah. They are definitely human-made"she replied.

"So, what we do?"

Minna though for a moment. Finally she said:

"We'll try to contact them. Mio, Lucchini, Eila, Lynette, Barkhorn and Erica. You'll do it. We will enter the action if something's bad happens. They don't look hostile, but have your weapons ready just in case".

"Yes, sir!"Mio saluted and together with three Witches flew towards the ships.

08:05

ORP _Cracow_ main deck park

Krystian and Hisako were just after the first lesson of the day. They were accompanied by a tall boy with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Oh God, I though that this lesson will never ends. I hate math"Krystian sighted.

"Oh, come on! This exam was not that bad"Hisako tried to comfort her friend.

Just then, they passed a group of First Years.

"First Years. That was times"Krystian said.

"Yeah. You remember that times, Adrian?"Hisako asked the boy who accompanied them.

"How could I forget? I was then on the Second Year, and I always had to taking care of you"Adrian replied with his high voice bass.

"And one more thing, Hisako. I told that there will not be any storm"Krystian said with satisfaction.

"Yeah, you were right".

Just then, all speakers started to spoke:

"Attention! Unidentified objects are approaching the ship! Man your battle stations!"

"Finally something's happening."Krystian started to rub his hands."Okay, there's the plan. Adrian. You go with me to the armory. We'll take our equipment just in case. Hisako. You'll take those First Years from here. After that, you'll join us. Understood?"

"Understood!"they both replied saluting.

Krystian and Adrian quickly ran to the armory. Hisako approached the frightened group of First Years.

"Okay, come with me. There's no safe"she said calmly.

"Are those people…flying?"one of the First Years asked.

"What are you talking about?"Hisako looked puzzeled.

Everyone looked upwards at the strange sight, indeed there were 6 humanoid figures flying towards them. This put them on edge and First years whimpered in fear. Hisako shot the look of everything is going to be alright but as that happened, she was hit by a massive air blast. There in front of her was an imposing figure of an individual that was floating of the ground. Hisako scanned upwards and saw the Imperial Japanese Navy officer's uniform and then was greeted by the face of girl! She had an eye patch on her right eye and to Hisako's dismay was not seen wearing any pants. Behind her was 5 other girls that were using the same devices to make float over the ground and they were all carrying heavy weapons.

"Who are you?"Hisako croacked.

The woman gave a strange look.

"We were about to ask the same"the one eyed woman responded.

Hisako was amazed by the fact that she understood what the woman said until all of sudden…

"FREEZE!"

Krystian and Adrian already back from armory dressed in their combat uniforms and with their Grot riffles drawn. The group of 6 did the same with their weapons. Krystian looked at Hisako.

"Hisako, are you alright? They didn't hurt you?"he asked with care in voice.

The girl only nodded. Krystian voice again changed into the heavy military tone:

"WHO ARE YOU?! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"

"I WOULD SAY THE SAME TO YOU!"the one eyed woman barked.

"IF YOU ARE SOME SORT OF CHINESE EXPERIMENT, I HAVE A RIGHTS TO SHOOT YOU!"Adrian shouted.

Hisako and the First years group were in a new state of fear. Right a moment ago they enjoyed a peaceful day in the school, and now that day have to be replaced with the wrath of bullets?

"WHAT YEAR IS IT?! WHERE ARE WE?! REPLY! YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS!"the woman yelled.

"IT'S JUNE 11, 2022 AND YOU'RE ON-BOARD OF SCHOOL CARRIER OF POLISH ARMY HIGH SCHOOL!"

The woman scoffed and repeated:

"I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN, WHO ARE YOU?! WHERE ARE WE?! DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH US OR ELSE!"then, the woman looked at Hisako and First Years."BESIDES, YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN SHOOT US IN FRONT OF THEM?!"

Krystian started counting down:

"HISAKO! TAKE THEM OUT OF THERE! ADRIAN! BE READY TO SHOOT IN 10…9…8…!"

"GIRLS! SAFETIES OFF!"

The air were filled with the clicks of weapon deprotection. Hisako and the group watched in fear as the one eyed lady and her comrades shouldered their weapons and pointed them at the boys.

Krystian was still counting:

"5…4…3…2…1…"

"STAND DOWN!"a voice thundered.

The whole looked up to see five more of the strange people as they floats down between the two opposing sides. Then one of them, the one with long red hair, approached the one eyed.

"BLOOD WILL NOT BE SHED TODAY, MIO! YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO OPEN FIRE ON POSSIBLE ALLIES?! WHAT IF THEY WOULD BE ON OUR SIDE?!"the red haired asked.

"MINNA! YOU REALIZED THEY'RE POINTING WEAPONS AT US, I WAS JUST CONCERNED ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THE REST!"

"THEY DON'T KNOW WHO WE ARE SO WE NEED TO APPROACH THIS WITH AN OPEN HAND, SO STAND DOWN AND WAIT FOR FURTHER ORDERS!"

Hisako watched as the 6 slung their weapons on their back and stood on idle. Krystian and Adrian did the same. She watched as this red haired woman in green uniform approach the two boys.

"Who is in command here?"she asked calmly.

"I'm."Hisako looked behind her.

From a Humvee that just stopped next to the event area, got out a young, maybe twenty-year-old, blond haired and gray eyed boy. He was dressed in a uniform with a general rank on his arm coat. As he approached the woman, he glanced at the red haired and gave reassuring smile. Hisako, Krystian and Adrian watched the conversation take place between general and the woman. When they ended, general approached the three.

"General Sobczak! Are you okay?"Krystian asked in concern.

"I'm fine, is everyone else okay?"Sobczak replied.

"We seem to holding out, Sir"Adrian replied.

"Good. Now, captain. Can you give me your radio?"

"Why?"Krystian looked puzzled, but he gave a radio to his commander.

Sobczak set the current frequency and said:

"To all students! It was an false alarm! Return to your classes!"

As the three wanted to go, Sobczak stopped them:

"You three are coming with me to the Conference Room".

"Huh?"Krystian said.

"Trust me, it regards our new guests".

"Oh…okay"Krystian said nervously.

And they headed to the CR.

08:18

ORP _Cracow_ Conference Room

The group proceeded to head to the CR in the ship superstructure. Krystian and Adrian, just in case, still had their weapons. The mysterious guest was with them as well. Once inside Sobczak closed the door behind them and rolled some maps on the table.

"First of all, would we like to introduce ourselves?"general asked.

"You first"the red haired woman asked.

"Sure, I like that anyway. I'm general Janusz Sobczak of the Polish Armed Forces, this is my adjutant, captain Krystian Saltarski and this is his friends: lieutenants Adrian Zapala and Hisako Nikamura".

Witches looked puzzled by boys names.

"I know that our names can be hard to pronounce, but you get used to this, really"Sobczak provided.

"Well then. I'm lieutenant colonel Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke, this is my second in command major Mio Sakamoto, Erica Hartmann, Gertrude Barkhorn, Francesca Lucchini, Charlotte E. Yeager, Perrine H. Clastermann, Lynette Bishop, Sanya V. Litvyak, Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen and Miyafuji Yoshika".

"Excuse me, Miss Nikamura"Yoshika said."Are you Fusoan?"

"No, I'm Japanese."She pointed on map."My parents moved from Japan to Poland in 1999."

Yoshika nodded.

"So, now that we all know each other, let's get to the bottom. Where are we? And what's going on here?"Mio asked.

Sobczak pointed at map.

"We're in the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Senegal".

Minna looked puzzled.

"Senegal? I've never heard about such state. Besides, there's Kingdom of Ouedraogo".

This time, general looked puzzled.

"I'm pretty sure there's Senegal, right, captain?"Sobczak looked at Saltarski.

"Yes, with capital in Dakar"he replied. Then, Saltarski's face took an angry look, he hit the map in the place where Senegal is and shouted:"DAMN YOU SENEGAL!"

Girls looked at him with a strange look.

"Forgive me"Saltarski said calmly."It's a kind of trauma that many poles get after the events four years ago".

"And what happened four years ago?"Lucchini asked.

"Maybe I'll tell it"Adrian proposed."Four years ago, at the FIFA World Cup 2018 Poland was playing first match with Senegal. They smashed us 2:1".

"At least you scored one goal"Eila said.

"Yeah. But later we lose the Match for Everything and we get home"he added.

Just then, Mio reminded something.

"Minna. That strange blue light".

"Right"Minna replied.

"What is she talking about?"Sobczak asked.

"I have some theory. You know the Multiverse Theory?"

"Yes. And I personally believe in it"Krystian replied.

"Could you give me some example of nations on every continents? I want to make sure if my theory is right"Minna asked.

"Of course. Captain."And Sobczak gave the map to him.

"Alright."Saltarski started to counting."In Europe we have: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Catalonia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Serbia. In Africa: Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Congo, DR Congo, Angola and South Africa. In Asia: China, North and South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Mongolia and Afghanistan. In North America: USA, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. In South America: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina. And this is only 40 of world 205 nations".

"205 nations?!"surprised Shirley yelled.

"Yeah. But ten of then, it means Kosovo, Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria, Palestine, Somaliland, Western Sahara, South Ossetia and Taiwan are unrecognized, and official there's only 195 countries"he added.

Witches couldn't believe that there are so many states. With their 64 nations, it was a crushing advantage.

"So my theory is right. We're in another world"Minna said with the Witches wondered faces.

"Wow. So the Multiverse Theory is real"Krystian said with smile.

"By the way, you Japan is look a little like Fuso"Mio said.

"And Argentina and Germany looks a little like Neue Karlsland and Karlsland"Barkhorn added.

"Guessing. Nations in your world"Adrian asked.

Two girls nodded.

"Well, at least cities are the same"Perrine noticed.

"I see what you mean, uh…Col. Wilcke, mind if I ask how old you and your girls are?"Sobczak asked.

"I wouldn't see why not. I'm 19, Mio is 20, Erica is 17, Barkhorn is 19, Lucchini is 13, Lynette is 16, Miyafuji is 15, Sanya is 15, Eila is 17, Perrine is 16 and Shirley is 17".

Minna noticed that four soldiers has winded eyes until general responded:

"Wow. I though that only Military High Schools students are the youngest persons welding weapons legally".

"What's with this ranks and the guns? Are you part of the army or something?"Hisako asked.

"We are in fact. We are the 501st Joint Fighter Wing ,,Strike Witches".

"Why the ,,Strike Witches"?"Krystian inquired.

"Because we're Witches".

"Huh? You mean the ones flying on brooms?"Adrian asked.

"We used to use brooms, but now we use Striker Units, those are the things we came here on"Minna explained.

Sobczak pondered more.

"Flying, young ages. What else can you do?"Saltarski asked.

Lynette stepped forward.

"We can use our familiars to use our magic".

"Could you give me and example?"

"SURE, I'LL DO IT!"

Miyafuji stepped forwards and all of sudden the room reflected in blue hue, as four soldiers looked on in awe. Shiba-inu ears sprouted from her head and tail appeared on her lower backs and she looked towards general.

"See? We can use magic to manifest theseee…OWW! OWW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Hisako was pulling at Miyafuji's animal ears, fiddling with them much to the protest of young Witch.

"Let go! They're sensitive, you know?"

"Sorry, force of habit."And girl let go Miyafuji ears.

"Our magic is the best weapon against the Neuroi"Mio added.

"Neuroi?"

General and three soldiers looked confused at the strange term.

"I forgot to mention that in our world we are at war with an alien race that invaded Earth in 1939 and taken much of world"Minna explained."Now it's 1945, and war is coming to an end".

"Okay, thank you for your time. You can go, and do something on ship"Sobczak said.

"And what can we do?"Erica asked.

"You can go to our board sauna, bath house, bar or other things. You can even visit some other ship decks. Or you can go on the training ground, and see how our weapons looks like. But take this."Sobczak took some cards and gave them to the Witches"This is General Permission Card. It allows you to enter almost everywhere. If guards don't want to let you in, show them this".

"Okay, thank you general"Barkhorn said.

Witches were ready to left the room, but general stopped them.

"But, please"he said calmly."Don't damage the ship. We bought him about 50 years ago, and modernization to modern standards cost us 89% of school budget. We don't want something to happen".

"Sure. We don't damage anything, you have my word"Minna provided.

Minna and her group left the room and went back outside. Krystian approached Sobczak with a worried expression.

"Did she said that they are at war with aliens?"the young captain asked.

"Yes, she did"Sobczak replied.

"So, what we do now?"Adrian asked.

"Yeah, we must tell others about them"Hisako added.

"Knowing the rumors speed in our school, probably everyone know about them"Krystian said nodding his head.

Janusz though for a moment.

"Okay, we'll do it like that"he finally said."First. If really everyone already know about them, I'll contact with headmaster Kruszyński. I'll tell him to issue a message about them, and tell others that those girls are not dangerous. Meanwhile, you captain, contact with general adjutants from other schools and tell them to be on our ship in next 4 hours".

"Yessir!"Saltarski saluted.

And they also left the room.

XXX

 **And the first chapter is done. I wanted to say, that this is alternate Timeline of our world, because here, Military High School exist since World War 1 times (first of them was British Army High School). And, yeah. Catalonia is independent here. But only because it's alternate Timeline. Here, when Catalonia in 2017 called for independence, the nations of Europe stood on their side, no on the side of Spain as in real life. And if you want to know ho exactly Hisako's hairstyle look, look at Hotaru from ,,Netsuzou Trap".  
**

 **When I explained some things, we'll see in the next chapter!**

Blanca: Bye!

 **Blanca, it's not time! You and Catalan Army will appear later!**

Blanca: Oh, sorry. (runs out of the room and closing the door)

 **Eh. See ya later.**


	2. Chapter 2

The **another chapter of ,,Chinese Down". I just wanted to say that story can be boring by few first chapters, but the real action will start soon. I also wanted to say that this meeting in this chapter will maybe not be liked by everyone, but it's needed.**

Anton: Yeah, action, like Operation…

 **Anton, stay quiet! You know what em I thinking about spoilers?**

Anton: Damn, right! Sorry. But sometimes I can't keep my tongue behind teeth.

Crystal: I confirm that.

 **Oh. And you Crystal.**

Crystal: I just came here to remind you about this first review.

 **Right.**

 _ **Empty Promise**_ **:** Alright, I'll change it in dialogues.

 **Okay, when reviews are done, we can go to the content. And you. Don't brake the 4th Wall anymore.**

Lucchini: What wall?

 **Seriously? Anyway.**

Chapter 2

,,Current situation and doubles"

June 11, 2022

12:11

Somewhere in ORP _Cracow_

It was four hours since the Witches arrived on ORP _Cracow_. The headmaster issued the massage about that the Witches are not dangerous. After that, they were covered with questions like ,,Why you not wearing pants?" or ,,What's the names of countries in your world?". Some students were surprised hearing such names as ,,Suomus" or ,,Karlsland", but they didn't though they were strange.

Also, after the questions, Witches went to visit the ship. Shirley and Lucchini left in the hangar, where Witches left their Strikers, Sanya and Eila stated to go to sauna, Perrine, Yoshika and Lynette went to use bath house and Minna and Mio went to the bar.

Barkhorn and Hartmann was walking through one of the corridors.

"I must say, that their technology is really advanced"Hartmann said.

"You're surprised. It's 2022"Barkhorn replied.

"I just wondering, what Adrian meant by ,,some sort of Chinese experiment". That sounded strange".

"I don't know, Hartmann. I'm more worried about our Strikers. I hope those mechanics are enough good".

"Easy. You saw those planes in the hangar? If they can take care of something like that, they'll easy handle our Strikers".

Just then, from around the corner, ran a girl and she collided with Hartmann. They bounced from themselves and landed on the floor.

"Watch as you…"she said as she looked at the girl and become speechless.

The girl that collided with Hartmann looked just like her! If not the their different outfit, it could be said that those two are twin sister. They had the same face features, the same hairstyle and color, the same eyes and even their growth and weight looked the same.

"W-Who are you?"Hartmann asked still couldn't believe in this girl similarity to her.

"I'm sergeant Natalia Komesky of the Republic of Slovakia Armed Forces 1st Mechanized Battalion"the girl even had the same voice as Hartmann"And you?"

"I'm lieutenant Erica Hartmann of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing"Hartmann replied.

"Komesky, get back here!"someone shouted.

Then, another girl from around the corner. This time, Barkhorn and Hartmann were surprised even more when then they saw Natalia. The second girl was exact copy of Barkhorn, and again only their outfits were things letting to distinguish them.

"Okay, this day is becoming more and more abnormal! Who are you, by the way?"Barkhorn asked.

"I'm sergeant major Helena Lichkova of the Czech Republic Armed Forces 2nd Mechanized Battalion. And you are…?"the girl replied.

"Captain Gertrude Barkhorn of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing and this is my partner Erica Hartmann".

"Wait. You are those girls that everyone talking about, right?"Helena wanted to make sure.

"Yes. But, I have bigger question. Why are you looking like us?"Barkhorn asked.

"I could ask the same. You know what? There's an old Polish proverb"Natalia said.

"How is it sound?"Erica asked.

"Everyone has their own double".

"And from what I see, this also refers to alternate worlds"Barkhorn stated.

"It's looks like it"another voice said.

When they turned, they saw a young boy with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in Hungarian Defence Force uniform and under his arm, he has a pencil and a thin book. Helena quickly saluted.

"Captain Kiss!"she said.

"Ease. I didn't came here for saluting"the boy said and approached two Witches"Captain Janos Kiss, Hungarian Defense Force 39th Infantry Battalion"he introduced himself.

"Captain Gertrude Barkhorn, lieutenant Erica Hartmann"Barkhorn replied.

"BTW, Janos. Where have you been? We were looking for ya for about three days. We though you're dead"Natalia said.

"And, have you checked the storage on Deck 4?"he asked suspiciously.

"No…"Helena replied unsteadily.

"By this three days, I was laying there! And you didn't came to check there! I never going on Linchov party's anymore!"Janos shouted.

"And what happened at those party?"Erica asked.

"Well. There was dancing, singing and at the end there rozovoye vino was pouring down. And after it I lost orientation. I woke up just two hours ago"Janos explained."When I exited the magazine, I met Saltarski. He told me that you have to come to conference room".

"Why?"Erica asked.

"Tomorrow is the meeting of generals with you. And today, we have to present our current situation to you"Janos explained.

"Okay"the blonde haired Witch replied.

And Witches gone to the conference room. But they stopped when they saw that Helena, Natalia and Janos are not going with them.

"What about you?"Erica asked.

"We'll come later. At now, only you and Poles have to be there"the Hungarian boy replied.

The three soldiers went in the opposite direction.

12:21

ORP _Cracow_ hangar

Shirley and Lucchini was watching as the mechanics repair one of the school F-16C Bl. 52+. But of course Shirley was the most fascinated person here.

"And how fast is this plane?"she asked one of the mechanics.

"Well. F-16 can reach maximum speed of 2300 kilometers per hour. But, MiG-29 can easily overtake him with it's maximum speed of 2445 kilometers per hour"the mechanic replied mounting a fuel line.

"Wow, that's even faster than P-51, right, Shirley?"Lucchini asked.

"Yeah. Even Me 262 are not that fast, although it's a jet too"the Liberion Witch said.

"Almost everyone knew that aircraft from your period are slower than modern day planes"the same mechanic said. Next he looked at two others checking the Su-22 flaps"Kamil, Maciek! Be careful wit those flaps!"

"We knew!"they shouted back.

Right then, Hisako ran to hangar in company of other girl. The second girl had short, almost boyishly cut, brown hairs and one green eye. The second was hidden under the eye patch.

"Miss Yeager, miss Lucchini. I was looking for you"Hisako said.

"Oh, really? Besides, who is she?"Shirley asked pointing at the second girl.

"This is my friend Diana Szczera. In addition to her name, she's not so honest"Hisako introduced the new girl.

"Nice to meet you"Diana said.

"The same here. I'm Charlotte E. Yeager, but you can call me Shirley, and this is my partner Francesca Lucchini".

Diana looked at them for a moment and said:

"You're a couple?"

Shirley immediately blushed.

"N-No. It's true that Francesca likes to cuddle into my bosom and I allows her it, bu it not means that…"just then, Diana started to laughing. Shirley finally knew what was going on."It was a joke, right?"

"Sorry. I just couldn't stop myself from asking this question"Diana replied.

Shirley looked at her with anger.

"Coming back. What do you need, Hisako?"she again turned to Polish-Japanese girl.

"Well. Tomorrow is the meeting between you and our General Council members. But today, we have to present our current situation to you"Hisako explained. Then she noticed something"Hey, where's miss Lucchini? Just a second ago…"

Right then, she felt someones hands touching her breasts. When she looked behind, she saw Lucchini.

"Hm. I can give you 4/10"Francesca said like this was nothing weir.

"MISS LUCCHINI! STOP IT! IT'S EMBARRASSING!"Hisako yelled. Mechanics pretended that they don't see anything.

"You overwrite the rating. I would gave only 2/10"Diana said also touching Hisako's breasts.

"DIANA, YOU TOO?!"

"Alright, Lucchini. Enough"Shirley said and Lucchini let Hisako's breasts go.

Hisako started to covered her breasts and looked at Diana. The one eyed girl only smiled.

"You…"Hisako whispered.

"Don't be so angry, it was only a joke"Diana tried to justify herself.

"Don't do it anymore".

Diana only nodded.

"Alright, can we go to the conference room?"Lucchini asked.

"Yes, we can"the black haired girl replied.

Shirley, Lucchini and Hisako went to the conference room, leaving Diana with the mechanics.

12:34

ORP _Cracow_ ,,Bar&Grill"

Although that the students called it ,,bar" and the name of this premises is ,,Bar&Grill" it actually looked like a connection of actual bar with some kind of restaurant. The tables were numbered, waiters were walking around and there was Menu Cards. It's really been more restaurant than bar.

Minna and Mio were sitting at one of the tables marked with number 8. They were reading Menu to see what they have in offer.

"Have you choose something?"Mio asked.

"I'm thinking about chicken soup and tomato soup"Minna replied.

"Besides, why you wanted to go here?"

"I wanted to try some of the Polish food".

She then again looked at the Menu.

"It's good that there's also the food names in Britannian. Otherwise, we would not understand anything".

Just then, a young boy with short blonde hairs approached them. He was dressed in blue shirt, black jeans pants and red waiter apron.

"Good morning, my name is Ludwig and I'll be you waiter today. What do dear ladies want to order?"the waiter asked.

Minna looked at Menu.

"One time chicken soup please"Minna said.

"One chicken soup. Got it"Ludwig said writing the order to his note book"And what for you?"he asked Mio.

"The same"Mio said, laying down the Menu and Ludwig walked away.

After a few minutes, Ludwig was there again, with two plates of chicken soup.

"There's your soup. And I have one advice. It's better, when waiter don't tell ,,bon apetit"he said placing the plates in front of Witches.

"Why?"Minna asked.

"Because if the waiter says so, it means he probably spat out there or something worse"he explained.

"Okay, thanks for advice"Mio said.

"Bon Apetit"Ludwig said and walked away.

Witches looked at their plates, and pushed them back. If this what he said about waiters saying ,,bon apetit" was true, they don't wanted to risk.

"What a pity. He looked so nice"Minna said.

"And finally it turned out that he spat to our plates"Mio added.

"At least, the music is nice".

As they were listening to music, Adrian approached them and sat to their table.

"Hi. I see that you doing well. Why are you not eating?"he asked paying attention on their plates.

"Well…We have supposition that someone spat to our plates"Minna replied.

Adrian nodded.

"Guessing. Ludwig handled you?"

"Yes. How did you know?"Mio asked.

"He's always doing it"he replied.

"Why? What did he got from this?"

"He's kind of joker. He likes to make jokes from everyone".

"So, that's mean…"Minna wanted to be sure.

"Yes. He did nothing to your chicken soup"then he looked at clock."Besides. I wanted to tell you that today will be a meeting with general adjutants from other schools. We have to present our situation to you".

"Okay, we're coming. But first, we want to eat"Minna said.

Two Witches quickly ate their chicken soups and together with Adrian went to the conference room.

13:01

ORP _Cracow_ Conference Room

The Witches, Hisako, Adrian and Krystian were waiting on the other adjutants.

"Oh, how long do we have to wait?!"Eila exclaimed in impatience.

"Easy. They'll come soon"Krystian provided.

"And who will appear first?"Sanya asked.

"Those who are closest"Adrian said with smile.

Right then, Helena, Janos and Natalia entered the conference room. All Witches, except of Barkhorn and Erica, winded their eyes seeing two girls looking exactly the same as two Karlslanders. Lynette noticed their calm expression.

"Why are you so calm? They look like you"the Britannian Witch asked.

"It's not so strange"Erica replied.

"But…they look JUST like you!"Yoshika said.

"We know. And?"replied Barkhorn, hiding that this situation started to entertain her.

Witches only looked at them and at the same time shouted:

"IT'S REALLY NOT SURPRISE YOU?!"

At this moment, Helena and Janos smiled and Natalia started to laugh loudly.

"We met earlier. We were also surprised to see that Gertrude and Erica look like us"Helena explained.

"Oh, so that's why you were so calm"Minna said turning to her countrymen.

Meanwhile, Hisako, Adrian and Krystian smiled. It didn't escape Perrine attention.

"You were knew about it, right?"she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, we did. But we wanted it to be a surprise"Krystian replied and turned to Janos"Hey, Janos. You know who will appear now?"

"I heard that Anton, Crystal and Lina already entered the ship. And this time, those two can be surprised"Janos replied pointing at Shirley and Lucchini.

Two Witches didn't knew what he meant. But soon, they get the answer. After a while, three more persons entered the room: another two girls and a boy. And this time, all Witches were surprised. Two girls looked exactly like Shirley and Francesca. Well, maybe with a little difference. The Shirley double had a blonde hair and green eyes and was dressed in French Army uniform. And it was only difference. On the other hand, the Lucchini double has no differences, but she was dressed in Italian Army uniform. And the boy had short brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing the Bundeswehr uniform.

Suddenly, both Francesca and her double rushed to Shirley and her double like launched from the cannon. They both touched their breasts and said:

"Wow! Surely 10/10!"

Then, they looked at each other and quickly changed their places.

"Shirley breasts are my!"Lucchini exclaimed.

"And Crystal breasts are my!"her double replied.

Meanwhile Krystian, Adrian, Janos and the fourth boy said:

"Oh no! This is getting out of hand! Now there are two of them!"

"Lucchini, better sit down"Shirley said.

"You too, Lina"Shirley double said.

"Okay"two girls replied.

"So those are those Witches you were talking about?"the French girl asked.

"Yes"Hisako replied.

"Now, you can introduce yourselves"Krystian said.

"Of course"the German boy said"I'm captain Anton Shrauf, German Bundeswehr 13th Infantry Brigade".

"Lieutenant Crystal Le Fem, French Armed Forces 7th Mechanized Brigade"Shirley double said.

"Second lieutenant Lina Tieri, Italian Armed Forces 4th Marines Battalion"Lucchini double said.

"By the way, Crystal. I though that Pierre will come with you"Hisako said.

"Nah. He's waiting for Michael, Linchov, Maleroshka and James"Crystal replied.

The three sat at the table on the side where Poles, Hungarian, Czech and Slovakian sat. Soon, the new five persons, more precisely five boys, entered the conference room.

The first of them was a tall boy with disheveled brown hair and green eyes. Although they were all dressed in gala uniforms, he was dressed in the usual uniform of the Swiss Army with the TAZ 90 camouflage.

The second boy was a medium growth, with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in British Army uniform.

The third boy was the same growth as the second and had a black hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in US Army uniform.

The fourth boy was a little smaller than first, but higher than the second and third, with deep dark gray hair and yellow eyes. He was wearing the Russian Armed Forces uniform.

And the fifth boy was the same growth as the second and third and his hair had a brown-black mix color and green eyes. He was dressed in Belarus Air Force uniform.

The five boys saluted and started to introduce themselves:

"Captain Pierre Drichburg, Swiss Armed Forces 11th Infantry Battalion"the Swiss said.

"Sergeant James Hunter, British Royal Navy 25th Royal Marines Regiment"the British said.

"Captain Michael Johnson, US Navy 66th Marines Brigade"the American said.

"Captain Aleksander Linchov, Russian Armed Forces 82nd Spetsnaz Regiment"the Russian said.

"Captain Aleksandr Maleroshka, Belarus Air Force 7th Air Mobile Battalion"the Byelorussian said.

The five boys sat with other adjutants.

"Is this everyone?"Yoshika asked.

"No, we still miss four people"Michael replied.

After another few minutes, Two more girls entered the room. First of them was the tallest and had long black hair and blue eyes. The second was less about the head, with long snow white hair and blood red eyes. When Witches saw her, a slight thrill passed on their backs. Both girls were dressed in Finnish Defence Force uniforms.

"Captain Ellen Korharen of the Finnish Defence Force Pori Brigade"the white haired girl said and pointed at her companion"And this is lieutenant Eevi Nieminen".

"Hello"Eevi said to the Witches.

"And only two left"James said as the Finnish girls sat next to him.

Right then, another pair of girls entered the room. They was wearing Japanese Self-Defence Force uniforms. They had the same growth. The first girls had a long blue hair, what surprised Witches, tied in ponytail and blue eyes. The second one had, also long, but curly red hair with two orange highlights on both sides of her head.

"And this is our last two persons"Saltarski said"Could you introduce yourselves?"

"Sure"the blue haired girl said"I'm captain Kozue Adachi, Japanese Self-Defence Force 11th Infantry Regiment in Chitose and this is lieutenant Rin Tomori"And both girls made standard Japanese welcome nod and also sat with other adjutants.

"It's pleasure to meet all of you"Minna said.

"The same with us"Rin said.

Witches quickly introduced themselves. After that, Lynette raised her hand and asked:

"I'm sorry but…um…what kind of school is it?"

"What do you mean?"Maleroshka asked.

"Everyone is talking that this is ,,high school". But you have ranks, you wearing uniform. And you have weapons here".

"It's Military High School"Kozue said.

Witches were confused.

"Military…High School?"Mio replied slowly.

"Yes. But it's also like the secondary school. We also have normal lessons like math, history or biology"Linchov said.

"And why all those weapons are here? If it's a school, there's shouldn't be any weapons or maybe just mocks"Shirley asked.

"Well"Pierre said"Military High Schools are like little armies. Actually, such school can teach maximum of 500, 000 students like with American or Russian school. But there's a one rule: Military High School can teach only half of the country army. So if your country have army of over 1, 000, 000, like USA, the number of students is 500, 000"he explained."And this equipment is here to teach students how use it. That's why our schools have planes, tanks, riffles and others".

"So…It's just training equipment?"Perrine asked.

"Not exactly"Crystal said"Those weapons are real and we use live rounds. Military High Schools students are also parts of military contingents. Student's are taking part in every foreign missions it's nation currently provide. For example, some of us fought in Afghanistan a part of InternationalSecurity Assistance Force-the operation which goal is to keep the peace in Afghanistan and get rid of Taliban".

"So. You are not only students but soldiers, you use real weaponry, live rounds and took part in foreign missions"Minna summed"Yes, it's sounds like army".

"And only students on 2, 3 and 4 year can took part in those missions"Ellen said"But when the war broke out, all students have to fight. No matter if they're First, Second, Third or Fourth Years".

"Wow. This really makes an little armies from your schools"Lucchini said.

"Yes. But our schools are under orders of Ministries of Defence"Anton added.

"And there are two types of MHS: Land and Sea"James said"Land Military High Schools belongs to inland nations. In addition, Sea MHS belongs to nations with access to sea".

"Of course, the Military High School is not only way to get to military. The normal recruitment still is in use"Hisako added.

"But now, let's get to the bottom"Linchov said"I say shortly: we are at war now".

"With who, with Neuroi?"Eila asked.

Almost everyone, except of Krystian, Adrian and Hisako, were confused after hearing the strange term. But Linchov continued:

"No. We're at war with People Republic of China".

At this moment, Witches fell silent. They didn't knew what does ,,people republic" meant, but they knew what just ,,republic" meant. And this mean…

"You're fighting other people?"Yoshika asked.

"It's our sad reality"Adrian nodded.

"Oh…"

The Fusoan Witch hung her head and looked at the floor.

"Forgive her. She swore to protect everyone, and hearing about people fighting each other is…well"Sakamoto explained.

"It's understandable"Eevi said.

"And if you want to know why this war broke out"Michael said hanging to his pocket"this is the reason".

On table, he placed…a cube of glass.

"You fighting for this? For glass?"surprised Barkhorn asked.

"It's not a normal glass. Try to brake it"Adrian said.

Barkhorn activated her ability (what didn't surprised adjutants, because Saltarski told them about it) and with all her strength she hit the cube. Much to Witches surprise, the cube don't even scratch. In addition, it made an electric discharge that threw Barkhorn right into the wall. The Witches in shock saw as their comrade crash into the wall and fell on ground.

"Barkhorn-san, are you okay?!"worried Yoshika asked.

"Yes. It's…it's nothing…Ouch!"Barkhorn replied when she stood again.

The Witches looked again on the cube.

"What was that?"Sanya asked.

"This, my dear ladies"Maleroshka started"is Nitrosium-the supermineral that saved the world from energy crisis".

"If this resolved the energy crisis problem, why you fighting for this?"Minna asked.

"Let's start from the beginning"Anton said.

The screen mounted in conference room wall turned on and showed the map of world. Then, the screen zoomed to Mongolia.

"The Nitrosium were discovered in January 2019 in desert in Mongolia"Saltarski started"The later research showed that Nitrosium can be used in all three states of concentrations: solid as power plants batteries, liquid as a gasoline and gas in gasworks. The Nitrosium in solid form also have power to feed the 5, 000, 000 city for over 500 years".

Witches after hearing the Nitrosium usage widened their eyes.

"It also was used in military purposes. Thanks to it, we managed to create new type of tank armor, bulletproof vests, tank rounds, ammunition and created new types of weapons like Polish Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle and German Leopard 3 tank and boosted our military industry development"Anton explained.

"How does Nitrosium helped in military industry development?"Yoshika wanted to know.

"Well. It turned out that Nitrosium powered factories have bigger work speed and produce more equipment and other things. Also civilian factories powered by Nitrsoium works faster"Crystal explained"And making weapons using Nitrosium Armor or Nitrosium Plastic turned to be more cheaper than using normal steel or plastic".

Then, Tieri took the speech:

"The geological research showed that Nitrosium occurs through all USA, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Europe and Asia. But only one place in Asia was place, where Nitrosium not occurs"Tieri said. All terrains where Nitrosium was were painted in blue. Only one place were painted in red"China. The only Asian country where Nitrosium not occurs".

"And everyone was afraid to trade Nitrosium with China"James said.

"Why?"Erica asked.

"In 2018, the Chinese high rank military officer, general Don Nian made a military coup d'Etat, bringing down the leader of China, Xi Jinping and taking the power. Everyone was afraid what general can do with Nitrosium, and don't wanted to risk"Helena explained.

"But, to have any access to Nitrosium, Nian made this, what he considered as right"Ellen said.

"What did he done?"Perrine asked.

"In May, 2019, he attacked Mongolia. The Ulan Bator fell only after one week of fight"Krystian said, and Mongolia was, like China, painted in red on map.

"But it was not enough for him. Nian next targets was: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam"Crystal said."But the matter was going worse and worse. And in that way, on December 2019, China controlled whole Asia. From Papua New Guinea to Kazakhstan".

"I also fought in Central Asia. I still can't believe we lost there"Linchov added.

Witches were stunned. How nation can conquer whole continent? And in just seven months.

"But…How? How did they done this?"Mio asked pointing at map on the screen. Now, all terrains from Russian border to Indian Ocean was red."Fighting that long should exhaust their army. How they're still able to fight?"

"Well. Nian changed the Chinese recruitment law. Before coup, China didn't had forced recruitment. But when he get to power, he ordered recruitment of woman and men in age range from 16 to 57 years. Of course, Chinese military High School is free from this"Eevi replied.

"Before war, Chinese People Liberation Army had power of over 2, 250, 000 troops and together with paramilitary formations-over 3, 250, 000. Now, People Liberation Army has over 17, 000, 000 active troops, 23, 000, 000 reservists, 2, 100, 000 paramilitary and 500, 000 MHS students of course"Michael said.

Witches were more stunned, hearing and seeing the power of China.

"They were also using their Vulture Tactic"Natalia said.

"Vulture Tactic?"Lynette asked"What is it about?"

"It's simple. Chinese were taking every weapon leaved by withdrawing enemy army and adapting it to their standards"Drichburg said"They were doing the same with peoples".

"What?"Shirley asked.

"The Vulture Tactic also concerns people. Chinese were taking to their army prisoners of war and civilians from occupied terrains. And they were taking everyone: teachers, cooks, taxi drivers and other peoples who even never had any experience with army"Kozue explained."And their second most effective tactic was Man Wave Tactics".

"Man Wave Tactic?"Minna asked.

"The were sending waves of infantry right into enemy fire"Michael explained.

"Horrible"Lucchini said.

"But effective. Thanks to this two tactics, they conquered this territories"Adrian said"Actually, in history the MWT was rarely used by them. But Nian really likes this tactic and set it up as one of main Chinese tactics".

Witches were now thinking about Chinese Army. According to them, the People Liberation Army should change name on People Slaughter Army.

"But, Asia was still not enough"James suddenly said.

"What?"Barkhorn asked"How whole continent could be not enough?"

"He wanted all Nitrosium. Every single cube"Crystal added.

"That's how, when he learned that the world two biggest Nitrosium deposits are in Poland and Portugal, on January 12, 2020, he invaded Russia, and then Europe"Hisako explained."That's how, the European Defense War of 2020 broke out. Of course, we lost it".

"We all fought in it"Ellen added and looked at Kozue and Rin"Maybe not all. Kozue and Rin was fighting in Japan".

"But, even those two continents was not enough. That's way, Chinese did something that no one expected"Maleroshka added.

"What they did?"Minna asked, afraid of answer.

"On April 2021, the war satellite called Orbital Defense Initiative, or O.D.I.N in short, had it's final tests. It was powered by Nitrosium generator. It was the newest weapon developed by American company SpaceX and European Space Agency to be used against the Chinese"Michael said.

"What was the task of this 'war satellite'?"Sakamoto asked.

"It's task was to bombard the China mainland and force it to capitulate"Adrian replied.

"And how it was working?"Perrine asked.

"Maybe it'll be better if we show you"Helena said.

Then, on the screen, appeared a giant construction orbiting in space (as Witches guessed seeing the stars behind it). It had a shape of wheel, from which white arms departed. On every second was painted a flag, resembling the Liberion one, and it's name. From the middle of the wheel protruded two hings: giant spire on the bottom and a cylinder in the back.

Suddenly, the spire on the bottom of the O.D.I.N. started to charge. A second later, a series of blue balls was fired from it. The camera moved on the Earth, somewhere in the desert and showed some city with skyscrapers and it's suburb. Right at this moment, the blue ball fired from O.D.I.N. crashed into the city and completely erased it from the map.

After seeing like such big city was destroyed so quickly, Witches couldn't believe that human hand can make such a powerful weapon.

"This is how O.D.I.N. kinetic cannon works"Saltarski said.

"Kinetic cannon?"Erica asked hearing that name.

"Or energy cannon. Tell as you like"Janos said.

"But, somehow, Chinese learned about him. They captured the space shuttle and with it, captured the O.D.I.N. And…Well. Used it"Eevi said.

Witches wanted to know how Chinese used O.D.I.N. but they were afraid to ask. Finally, Sanya broke the silence:

"How they used it?"

"Simple. They targeted some cities and fired at them"Anton replied.

"Which cities?"Shirley asked.

"Originally, they targeted around 31 cities, that what O.D.I.N. on-board computer was saying, before Chinese cut off the signal. But they managed to destroy only 16 of them"Anton continued"It was Austin, Caldera Peak, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, but only partly, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Myra".

"Did you said Myra?!"Shirley shouted hearing her hometown name.

"Yes. The city was raised with the ground"Michael replied.

"No…No…"Shirley whispered as she imagined as the kinetic missiles from O.D.I.N. fells on Myra.

"Is she alright?"worried Hisako asked seeing Shirley.

"Myra is Shirley hometown back in our world"Minna explained.

Anton and Michael right then felt like donkeys.

"Sorry. We didn't knew"Anton said.

"C-…Can I go to toilet?"Shirley asked still thinking about Myra.

"Sure. Hisako, could you go with her?"Saltarski said.

Hisako came up to Shirley, and together with her left the room. Of course, Lucchini ran with them.

When the three leaved, the rest get back to conversation.

"Wow. I've never saw her in such state"Barkhorn said.

"And how would you feel if you found out that your hometown been raised with the ground?"James asked.

"Wait, you said that O.D.I.N. destroyed 16 cities, and I counted only 13 of them"Sakamoto said changing the topic to the current one.

"Yes. But those 13 cities was only in United States."Michael said"The other three was Alexandria in Egypt, Perth in Australia and Manaus in Brazil. In other words, the four, including US, other nations not under Chinese control and where Nitrosium occurs".

"That's how China went on war with every Nitrosium-having nations and how's Coalition was formed"Kozue said.

"But what happened to O.D.I.N.? Why he didn't destroyed the rest of cities?"Minna wanted to know.

"It was destroyed. Probably someone pressed the self-destruction button or destroyed the station generator. At least, we know that it fell to Pacific Ocean"Helena replied"It's explosion also destroyed the International Space Station that was near him".

"And, month after the O.D.I.N. strike, China invaded Hawaii, Egypt, Australia and South America. Now, they control all Hawaii, USA West Coast and some parts of northern Australia"Saltarski ended.

Witches were now thinking about everything they heard. The supermineral. The super powerful nation that conquered two, or three if South America was conquered too, continents. The space weapon. It was too many of it.

"If I can ask"Yoshika said"What does China do now?"

"Lately, they were conquering South America. Two weeks ago the last bastion of Coalition there, Caracas, fell"James replied.

"Why they conquered the whole continent, if only one nation had Nitrosium?"Sakamoto asked.

"They were lazy. They knew that Brazil expects the invasion from Europe, and fortified it's coast, so China wanted to attack it from behind. Nian don't wanted to negotiate the military access to move his troops through Peru territory, so he just invaded it. Later, Chinese forces just spilled across the continent"Janos explained.

"You didn't won even ONCE?"Perrine asked.

"Well"Saltarski said"We defeated Chinese several times. First three times were in 2020 during the Defense War. It was: Miracle near Olsztyn, Battle of Hamburg and Siege of Sedan".

"But our first biggest victory took place one year ago"Adrian said"Chinese entered the Sinai Peninsula, and crossed the Suez Canal, but Egyptian Army managed to drove them back. And this was our first biggest victory".

"First?"Yoshika asked.

"The second one was Operation: Sun Never Sets"James said"Or in other words, the liberation of Iceland, Ireland and UK that took place three month ago, and was made by our fleet".

"You saying that your schools managed to liberate three countries alone?"Barkhorn asked.

"We had support from the Regular Armies of Ireland and UK and Iceland Coast Guard"Helena said.

"Can I ask one thing?"Lynette asked"Why there're three schools on this ship?"She pointed at Helena, Natalia and Janos.

"Long story"Natalia said"During the evacuation of Europe, the parliament of European Union ordered the Sea High Schools to take on board as many Land High Schools as they can. NATO ordered the same by the way. That's how all Military High Schools of the Visegrad Group landed here".

"Germans wanted to take the Austrians, but they escaped from Europe with Norwegians"Adrian added and Anton send heavy look to him.

Right then, Shirley, Hisako and Lucchini get back from the toilet.

"You feel better?"Crystal asked.

"Yeah. A little"Shirley replied.

"Okay, thanks for explaining. It's nice from your side"Minna replied.

"No problem"Maleroshka replied"It was nice for us too".

"So, this is over of the meeting?"Sakamoto asked.

"Yes"Saltarski replied shortly.

After those words, everyone left the conference room.

19:45

Saltarski's room

Saltarski was laying on bed and hanging a RC controller. With it, he controlled a model of T-72 that was riding on the floor. He placed some training target, in form of mock of the building wall with integrated hit sensors and LED's, on the tank way. He set the tank turret in direction of the target, fired and soon the LED's lit up, symbolizing the hit.

Right then, Sakamoto entered the room. Through her shoulder, she had strapped sleeping bag. In the second hand, she had her sword.

Saltarski quickly looked at her and stopped the RC tank.

"What are you doing here?"he asked.

"Minna asked your general, where we have to sleep. He said to her, that we'll get the room allocation"she replied"Minna sleeps in his room".

Saltarski nodded. Then, Sakamoto noticed the tank on the floor.

"What is it?"

"Huh? Oh, right. This is my RC model of T-72 tank".

"RC?"

"It means 'radio controlled'. This controller that I have here, sends an electromagnetic signals to this tank and thanks to this, I can drive him. I'll show you".

He activated the tank, and drove some meters. Next, he turned the tank and made some turning. At the end, the tank drove under the bed. Saltarski put down the controller and set the mock target on the shelf.

Sakamoto was still surprised seeing how this tank moving.

"Don't be so surprised. It's not a big RC controlled thing"Saltarski said laying on be again.

"No?"she asked.

"There're bigger"he replied calmly.

She then noticed two other things: one screen hanging on the wall and one on the desk. Before she asked about them, Saltarski said:

"This thing on wall is TV. It allows you to watch movies and such things. And this black box that is connected to TV is DVD player. It's designed to play movies from special discs. This second thing, on my desk, is computer".

"Computer?"Sakamoto asked surprised.

She once saw the computer. More precisely, the ENIAC, probably first computer of the world. She remembered that ENIAC occupied almost whole room. She never suspected that computer can be that small.

Next, she started to set her sleeping bag. Then she looked at the photos standing on the shelf. On one of them, Krystian and Hisako was posing together in white-navy blue gala clothes. The inscription was saying: "Rozpoczęcie Roku Szkolnego 2012-2013, Glewiec, 1 Września, 2012". Sakamoto didn't knew what does that mean, but she now knew that Hisako and Saltarski were knew each other from some time.

"How long do you know Hisako?"she asked.

"From the birth"he replied. When Sakamoto get back to looking at photos, Saltarski added"We were born at the same day".

"Really?"

"Yeah. Our families knew each other since Hisako parents dwelt in Wierzbno, our home village. Our older sister were best friends too. Hisako's parents even helped my parents in choice of my older sister name".

"And what's your older sister name?"

"Yuma".

"And what's she doing now?".

"She went to collage in Canada together with Hotaru, Hisako's older sister. They both studying on Art and Humanities Research direction in the University of Alberta in Edmonton".

"Why Art and Humanities Research?".

"Yuma want to become an painter and Hotaru want to become a historian".

Sakamoto again looked at photos. She saw Saltarski in company with two girls. First of them was taller and had pink hair, tied in two ponytails that she put on her shoulders, and blue eyes. She was dressed in jeans pants and green T-Shirt.

" _This must be his older sister_ "Sakamoto though.

The second girl looked like two year old, and had long brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a short red skirt and jacket.

"Who's she?"Sakamoto asked pointing at the little girl.

Krystians saddened and said:

"It's…It's my younger sister. She's name was Zuzanna, but everyone just called her Zuza".

"And what's happening with her?"

"She's…she's dead".

Sakamoto was shocked. She didn't expected this king of response.

"D-Dead?"

"Yes. She died during the Battle of Warsaw two years ago"he paused. Then continued"I promised myself that I'll find this one that killed her. And I'm going to keep this promise".

He then turned and covered with quilt.

"I'll tell you about it someday".

Sakamoto entered her sleeping bag and though about this everything. But before she knew, she was sleeping.

19:49

Near the Adrian's room

Yoshika and Lynette got the same room as Adrian. They also had the sleeping bags.

"It'll be for me the first time when I no sleep in bed"Yoshika said.

"Yeah, mine too"Lynette replied.

When they entered the room, they stopped dead.

Adrian was kissing with some girl next to the wall. They both were half-naked and Adrian started to undid fly of his pants.

"So this what they saying about you is true"the girl said"You like to go straight to the bottom".

"You should guess"Adrian said.

Right then, Adrian noticed Yoshika and Lynette standing in the door frame.

"What's wrong?"the girl asked. Adrian pointed at two Witches.

The girl and Adrian quickly ran to the bed and started to quickly dress themselves. When they ended, girl quickly left the room.

Witches looked at Adrian.

"Did we stopped you in something?"Lynette asked.

"No, no. I'm going to break with her anyway. I already have someone on my eye"he replied.

"Eh…What?"Yoshika asked.

Adrian sat on the bed and said:

"You know what does 'casanova' means?"

"It's a guy that change girls like gloves"Lynette said according to the truth.

"And I'm called 'Polish Casanova, the fastest lover of NATO' with reason"he replied.

Witches right then understood.

"Easy, I don't going to pick up any of your friends"Adrian provided.

Two girls sighed.

"I see that you're going to sleep here"he said, seeing the sleeping bags.

"Yes. Your general told us to sleep in your room"Yoshika replied.

"So, make yourself comfortable".

Yoshika and Lynn set their sleeping bags and lay down in them. Adrian also lay down on bed and covered in quilt.

"You not going to change?"Lynette asked.

"No. I like to sleep in things that I was wearing whole day"he replied as he undid some buttons in his uniform.

After this, he was snoring. Witches looked at each other.

"And think that he wanted to have sex with that girl"Lynette said.

"You think?"Yoshika asked looking at him".

"Seeing what they were doing here, I can say yes".

They closed their eyes and, despite the Adrian snoring, fell asleep.

19:53

Near Hisako's and Diana's room

On the other hand, Shirley and Lucchini had to sleep with Hisako and Diana.

"I just hope, that Hisako is not angry at you anymore"Shirley said.

"Probably not"Lucchini replied"Besides, how'd you feel?"

"Better. I just couldn't believe that Myra was destroyed".

"Yeah. But you can be calm, because Myra in our world is still on place!"

"Fact. I didn't know myself why the fate of this world Myra hit me so hard".

Right then, they entered the room.

It was a big room, bigger than the others, with two beds on different sides of the room. One of the beds blocked the wardrobe. On the wall, in front of Diana's bed, was hanging a TV with attached DVD player on the dresser and under the window stood two desks turned with their backs to themselves. On them, stood computers and books was laying. The shelf's were divided in two parts signed ,,Hisako" and ,,Diana". On shelf's stood books, DVD's and photos.

Hisako were sitting on her bed, when Diana was laying on her backs and reading the book. When the two saw the Witches, they quickly stood up.

"Hi. You'll be sleeping in our room?"Diana asked.

"Yes"Shirley replied"I see that you're not angry, Hisako".

"Nah. It passed away quickly"Hisako replied.

Then, Shirley again looked at Diana's eye patch.

"What happened to your eye?"she asked.

Diana touched her eye patch and said:

"Third-level meeting with Chinese interrogation specialist. He burned my eye with cigarette".

"Ouch"Lucchini said.

"Yeah, it's hurts. But I learned to live with it".

Shirley looked at walls and saw some posters. On the Diana's said, she saw posters of movies like ,,Transformers: The Last Knight", ,,Blade Runner 2049" or ,,Alien: Covenant". She first time saw this movies, but the robots on the first poster looked really cool. In addition the poster with a ugly black monster on the white background and with word ,,pray" written under it looked really scary. She deduced that it have to be a title Alien.

When she looked on Hisako's posters, her eyes expanded. She saw posters on which were really futuristic cars. Every poster showed the car from really impressive angle and on the track. The posters were named ,,Bugatti Divo", ,,Doge Viper" or ,,Ford Mustang".

"You like cars, huh?"Hisako asked seeing Shirley's face.

"I more prefer motorcycles, but wow! Those cars look really cool!"

"Yeah. I was always interested in automotive. In the age of eleven I've even built my own go-cart".

"Oooh, really?"Lucchini asked.

"Yeah, but...Let's say that I'm not the best constructor and during the first test, I crashed into a tree and landed in hospital for two weeks"Hisako said shyly.

She then yawned.

"Tired by this day?"Shirley asked her and yawned too.

"Yeah. I think it was too many for me"she replied with smile.

Then, Lucchini yawned too.

"I see that all of you are tired"Diana said.

"And you not?"Lucchini asked.

"I want to end the chapter, that's all".

"And what book are you reading?'Shirley asked.

She took the book and showed them.

"'Felix, Net & Nika and the Palace of Dreams'. Only twelve pages left to read"she explained.

"Huh. So, enjoy reading"Shirley said, setting her sleeping bag.

The Witches and Hisako lay down and fell asleep.

19:56

General Sobczak room

Minna was laying in her sleeping bag. Meanwhile, general was sitting on his bed and reading the book. She rode the book title. _Pan Tadeusz_.

"General"she said.

"Yes?"he replied putting the book down.

"I wanted to ask about your adjutant".

"Captain Saltarski? Ask".

"I noticed that he has so…unconscious look. Why?"

General looked at her and said:

"Captain's younger sister was brutally raped, then killed during the Battle of Warsaw. It all happened in front of him. That girl was only four year old".

Minna couldn't say anything after hearing it.

"Who?"she finally asked"Who could do something like that?"

"Chinese officer-lieutenant Hu Lizing of the PLA High School. Since then, Saltarski want to take revenge on him".

This time, both of them didn't said anything. They just covered themselves with quilts and fell asleep.

XXX

 **And the chapter 2 is done. Before someone say. It's just a story. I know that conquering whole continent (not mention three) is almost impossible. But hey! It's just a story. There everything can happen. And, I tried my best to explain how China did this everything. If someone don't understand, please write in comments, and I'll try to explain it better.**

Minna: Exactly.

 **Hey Minna. How do you feel after hearing what happened to Saltarski?**

Minna: I feel sorry for him. He's even a cool guy. And seeing your sister being raped and killed…Somethings horrible.

 **Yeah. But now, see in the next chapter!**

Minna: See ya!


	3. Chapter 3

**And there's chapter 3! For now, it'll be just a skirmish, not a full scale battle. Real action will start soon. At least, war stories needs to build the stage for the combat scenes. So the battle will start in next few chapters.**

Linchov: I just hope that I'll not be forced to wait long.

 **Oh, Linchov. You'll be have a time to shoot some Slant-eyed.**

Kozue: Hey!

Rin: Apologize! (sound of hit)

 **Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I talked about Chinese, not Japanese, Koreans or others!**

Rin: We know. But it was offensive anyway.

 **Alright, without extending…**

Chapter 3

,,Night Fight"

June 11, 2022

23:04

ORP _Cracow_ , Saltarski's room

Sakamoto was torn out of sleep by bangs far from the room. When she listened more, she finally recognized the sounds.

" _Shots?_ "she though.

She quickly stood and looked at Saltarski's bed. It was empty.

Suddenly, she heard a footsteps closing to the room. She quickly grabbed Rappumaru and was ready to pierce the intruder with it's blade.

The doors opened, showing a soldier in Polish uniform. When Sakamoto saw him, she lowered and put down her sword.

"What's happening?"she asked.

"We don't know how, but some Chinese commandos get on the ship"the soldier replied"Please, don't leave the room, Ma'am. We'll take care of them".

Behind him, Sakamoto could see two other soldiers, carrying the table. They placed it in distance of about 50 meters from the corridor turn. Soldiers kneeling behind the table and put their weapons on it's edge, to make it easier to shoot.

"Bożydar. Zgaś światło (Bozhidar. Turn of the light)"the commander ordered in Polish.

One of soldiers took a pistol with silencer and fired at the lamps.

Darkness prevailed in the corridor. Sakamoto, through repealed door, could hear the click of weapons. She waited on the first shots. Besides, the shots still could be heard from far away.

She opened the doors more, looked through them and removed her eye patch to see whats happening.

Right then, she heard as someone is giving orders in Chinese. Next events were only a matter of seconds. The corridor was lightened by shots fired by Poles at the Chinese commandos.

And it was something that commandos were waiting for.

One of them threw grenade into the corridor. Polish soldiers quickly hid behind the table. But grenade didn't exploded. In addition to this, Sakamoto saw as the Chinese part of corridor been lightened by three shots. Next, she saw blood splashing from holes in Poles chests and as they bodies fell on the ground. When she looked closer at the table, she saw three holes in places where soldiers been.

Sakamoto never saw that precisely aimed shots. Three shots, three dead. Even best Fuso sharpshooters were not so accurate.

The commandos came out from around the corner, and Sakamoto could see them. They were wearing fully black uniforms and had a strange looking riffles with magazines behind the grip. They also was wearing balaclavas that covered their faces. On the eyes, they had a strange goggles glowing green and their riffles barrels was coming out a green laser beam.

Suddenly, one of soldiers said something in Chinese, and Sakamoto, thanks to her magic eye, saw as one of commandos aiming at her. She quickly hid in the room, right before the commando fired at her. How did they noticed her?

One of the commandos entered the room. Sakamoto quickly took her sword. But commando was quicker. He fired at sword, knocking it out of her hand. Then, he came closer to her and put his riffle to her head.

"What you do now, Coalition scum?"he asked in English.

Sakamoto swallowed. It was the first day in this world, and she already landed in such situation.

Then another shots came from the corridor. She heard screams of someone, and next, she felt as commando body lands on her. The light from his goggles lightly blinded her, but not for long and not hardly. She threw the body on the floor and took Rappumaru. Then, she was totally blinded by a flashlight.

"Wszystko w porządku? (Are you alright?)"someone asked.

"What?"Sakamoto replied.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot that you don't speak Polish"the same voice replied.

The person lowered his flashlight and Sakamoto saw him. It was a young soldier, maybe in Miyafuji age. He wore a standard uniform of Polish Army, but with bigger vest, black gloves, black boots and helmet with goggles. He held the riffle with flashlight attached to it. On his shoulder, he had a stripe showing a White Eagle hanging a lightning in his claws on the background of red-black shield and with inscription ,,Tobie Ojczyzno" and it's English version: ,,For you, my Homeland".

He came up to her and introduced himself:

"Corporal Grzegorz Drzaga, Military Unit GROM".

"Major Mio Sakamoto, 501st Joint Fighter Wing"the Fusoan Witch introduced herself.

"So you are one of those 'Witches'?"

"Yes".

"Please, come with us. There's no safe".

Before they leaved the room, Grzegorz kneeling next to the dead commando and took his goggles and weapon and gave to Sakamoto.

"Take this"he said"You'll be needing it".

"No, thanks".

"If we have to break through those guys, better take it. You don't kill anyone with only this sword".

He was right. If they had to break through, she needed something more than only sword. She took the riffle, and Grzegorz also gave her few magazines. Next, he gave her the goggles.

"What's with those goggles? Why they're glowing?"

"It's a night vision goggles. We don't need 'em, because we have flashlights"Grzegorz said, showing his flashlight"But we have one advantage".

"What?"

"When you aim the flashlight in the night vision, it will blind the the one who wear the goggles.

Sakamoto nodded. The night vision was something new. Such technology could be really helpful in fighting Neuroi in the night and on the ground.

"You know where captain is? And how's the situation?"she asked.

"Captain's fighting in other part of the deck and we lost decks 3, 4, 5 and superstructure. We are on the Deck 4. We must try to break through to the mess hall on the Deck 5 where temporary HQ and hospital was set. Fight's also taking place on the Main Deck"Grzegorz explained.

"So the situation is bad"she said and though" _Especially that our Strikers were in hangar on Deck 3_ ".

They exited the room and, together with three more GROM soldiers, went in the direction of school mess hall.

23:12

Adrian's room

Yoshika and Lynette were still sleeping, when they heard someones shouting:

"WAKE UP!"

Two Witches opened their eyes and sat in their sleeping bags, to see Adrian and Hisako in full equipment, standing over them. The uniforms were almost the same, but Hisako also had a white band with red cross on her arm.

"You did not have to shout"Hisako said.

"I know. But I wanted to make sure that they'll woke up"Adrian replied.

Two girls again looked at them.

"What's happening? Why do you dressed in your uniforms?"Lynette asked.

"We're under attack"Adrian answered.

"U-Under attack?"Yoshika repeated.

"Yup. Chinese get on the ship"Hisako explained

Witches looked at each other.

"What we gonna do?"Yoshika asked.

"Better let's go out of there. The commandos taken three decks and superstructure. They also trying to take over the Main Deck"Adrian explained the situation.

Witches left their sleeping bags. The four stood next to the door and begin to listening. From other parts of the decks, they could hear shots. They could distinguish the similar to hitting metal with metal shots from Polish MSBS riffles and pop-boom resembling sounds of Chinese QBZ-95 assault riffle. But when MSBS started to became quieter, they knew which side is winning.

Adrian looked at the nearby turn and turned back to three girls.

"Clear. We can go, but stay sharp"he said.

They entered the corridor and turned on the flashlights. Both ends of the corridor were clear, with no trace of Chinese commandos. Adrian again turned to them and said:

"Okay, we must get to the mess hall. Next…"Adrian didn't ended, because his arm was pierced by bullet.

"Adrian-san!"both Yoshika and Hisako yelled.

He fell on the ground. Hisako quickly knelt next to him and started to dress his wound. When she looked in the direction from where the shot came from, she saw a muscle commando almost two times taller than she. His green night vision goggles was looking straight on her. He aimed his QBB-95 machine gun at her. She wanted to aim her MSBS at him, but commando was quicker and pulled the trigger.

Suddenly, Hisako was blinded by two blue light that appeared in front of her. She heard as the shots were fired from the MG, but she didn't felt any of them. When the light became weaker, she recognized Yoshika and Lynette with their familiars activated and making something that resembled a shield. She observed in awe as the bullets just bounce off from the shield.

"Miss Nikamura, are you okay?"Yoshika asked.

Hisako only nodded. In that moment, the shots disappeared. When the three looked in the direction of the commando, with fear they noticed as the giant figure of him started to charge at them.

Hisako rushed forward at him, trying to not step on Adrian, and after a few seconds, their weapons crossed. They started to grapple, but the commando managed to get the advantage. Suddenly, he kicked Hisako in her knee. The girl fell on one knee, and commando with full strength hit her in face with his MG flask. Hisako fell on the ground.

Then, commando looked at two Witches. They just planted Adrian under the wall and now were looking at commando. He quickly approached them and grabbed Lynne by her collar and lifted her.

"Put her away!"Yoshika yelled and started to punch the commando.

It didn't make any impression on him. He put his second hand on Yoshika's forehead.

"Dont boter mi"the commando said with broken English.

He pushed her enough firmly, that she fell. She saw as he preparing his fist to hit Lynette.

"Trast mi. Its not gona hart"he said.

"Please…No…"Lynette said.

"Rilly. Yu fill onli litl hist"

His goggles seemed to became more lighter, like they were symbolizing the happiness of this soldier that he can punch her.

In this moment, Lynette saw a light, and felt as the commando embrace relaxes. She felt as she fell on the ground, and heard the bang of commando body fell on the ground. She then looked at the person that shot him.

Yoshika just lowered the WIST-94 pistol that she took from Adrian. She was looking at Lynette. And right then, she noticed what she did.

She killed another person.

She quickly dropped the 94. Next, she again looked at the commando body. At pistol. At body. At pistol. At body.

"What have I done…?"she asked herself, hiding her face in hands.

Lynette approached her friend and hugged her. She then felt Yoshika tears on her uniform.

"Don't cry. There was no other way"Lynette said trying to calm Yoshika down.

Right then, Hisako regained senses. She saw the body of the commando laying in a distance of two meters from her and Lynette hugging Yoshika. She tried to smile, seeing them, but she felt only pain. She touched her left cheek, and felt something liquid. She looked at her hand, but without a light, she couldn't see anything, so she, in much to her disgust, licked her hand and winced.

" _Yeah, it's definitely a blood_ "she though.

She stood up and took her MSBS. She approached two Witches.

"Are you okay?"she asked, seeing crying Yoshika.

"Yes, but Yoshika…"Lynne pointed at dead commando.

"She killed him?"

Lynette only nodded. Hisako again looked at crying Yoshika.

"Hey, look at me"Hisako said with maternal tone. Yoshika looked at her, still with tears in eyes, and Hiskao continued"I know that it's hard to kill someone. When I killed someone first time, I reacted just like you".

"R-Really?"Yoshika asked sniffing.

"Yeah. I was crying too. But, I always had someone that made me feel safe"she replied.

"Who it was?"

"Captain Saltarski. He always can make me calm and didn't let me totally fell in depression after this first time".

"What do you want to tell me by this?"

Hisako looked at Lynette.

"I wanted to tell that as long you have someone near, that long you don't have to be afraid of anything".

"Maybe you're right".

Then, Yoshika stopped crying and together with Lynette stood. Only then, in the light of flashlight, they noticed the huge cut on Hiskao's cheek.

"It's hurt?"Lynette asked.

"What?"Hisako answered with question, but she understood"Maybe a little. But now, I must to take care of Adrian".

"I can help you"Yoshika proposed.

"How?"

"Turn the cheek".

Hisako, a little puzzled, did what Yoshika was asking for. Then, girl touched her cheek. Hisako suddenly saw the same blue light as with the shields and when Yoshika first time activated her Familiar on the ship.

Suddenly, Hisako felt a comforting warm on her cheek. After a few seconds, Yoshika took her hands away.

"Done"the Fusoan Witch said.

Hisako touched her cheek. She didn't felt the cut, but only blood. She pulled out the handkerchief and wiped the rest of blood.

"How you did that?"the Medic asked in awe.

"It's her ability, Healing"Lynette explained.

"Hey, maybe you'll help me?"Adrian asked, apparently upset that he had to wait that long for help.

The free knelt next to him and Yoshika, using her ability, make his shoulder wound disappear.

"Wow, thanks"he said"It was the quickest treatment I've ever had".

"I'm glad that I could help you"Yoshika said.

"But now, better let's go"Adrian said taking his riffle"We have to get to the mess hall".

When he said that, the four proceed in the direction of the mess hall.

23:26

ORP _Cracow_ mess hall

General Sobczak and Minna were sitting in the HQ part of the mess hall. On some tables were laying computers, maps of ship decks and screens showing the view from cameras. On the other side of the mess hall was the hospital. On the tables were laying wounded soldiers, and doctors were walking around from one table to second.

"Three decks and superstructure are lost. We have any contact with headmaster?"Sobczak asked one of soldiers sitting next to the computer.

"No. Since those guys taken it, we don't have any contact with him"the soldier replied.

"So, what are we going to do?"Minna asked.

General though for a moment, then said:

"Try to hack to the school security system and show me the camera image from the bridge".

"Yes sir!"

The soldier clicked some buttons on his keyboard and soon, the camera image of bridge appeared on the screen.

"Got it!"he said triumphantly.

"Now, move it in the direction of ship captain seat"general ordered.

The soldier moved the camera in the left.

"There it is!"Minna said.

On the screen, they could see ten persons kneeling with hand behind their heads. One of them were dressed in normal captain uniform and the second was dressed in black, elegant suit. The rest were dressed in normal sailor uniform.

"Damn it. They have headmaster and captain"Sobczak said.

"Guānbì xiàngjī"one of the commandos said.

The other commando aimed at camera and fired.

"They orientated that we observing them"the soldier said.

"Quick. At least, we saw that headmaster is safe and sound"Sobczak said.

Right then, GROM soldiers together with Sakamoto entered the mess hall. Minna quickly rushed towards Mio and hugged her.

"I'm glad that you're all right"she said.

"The same here. But it was no easy to break through here"Sakamoto replied.

"True. We lost two soldiers"Grzegorz added.

"Corporal Drzazga. Good you're alright too"Sobczak said as he came closer.

"Thanks general"Grzegorz answered.

"What about the others?"Mio asked wondering about other Witches.

"They're here too"Minna said pointing at the Witches sitting at one of the tables.

Minna and Mio came to the table and sat. then, Sakamoto noticed something.

"Where's Miyafuji and Lynette?"she asked.

"We don't know"Shirley replied.

"We're here".

The Witches turned to see Yoshika and Lynette entering the mess hall with Adrian and Hisako. The two Witches sat at the table together with the others.

"We though that something happened"Barkhorn said.

"Well…We had some problems"Lynette said looking at Yoshika.

"What problems?"Perrine asked.

"We were stopped by overgrown commando that eliminated Hisako and Adrian from fight"the Britannian Witch explained.

"So…How'd you escaped him?"Erica asked.

Lynette again looked at Yoshika.

"Yoshika shot him".

Witches widened their eyes. They couldn't believe that Yoshika been able to kill someone.

"Please, don't be angry at me. I wanted to save Lynne"Yoshika said.

"Angry? We're just surprised that you're the one that will spill the first blood"Eila said.

"But how do you feel?"Barkhorn asked carefully.

"A little better. After this what Hisako said to me".

At this moment, Saltarski, Janos, Kozue, Rin, Helena and Natalia entered the room. Behind them, some soldiers were carrying the stretchers with wounded. After seeing the Czech and Slovakian, Witches imagined Barkhorn and Erica in this uniforms.

"Put the wounded on the tables. Rest, surround the entrance and kill every Chinese that try to get here"Saltarski ordered.

Then, he and other five came up to the general.

"Sir. Reporting that enemy numbers is almost 200 troops and 15 armored vehicles"Helena reported.

"How did they even entered the ship?"Natalia asked.

"I don't know. We need to find out after we get rid of them"general said.

"And what about other generals?"Kozue asked.

"They're fighting on the main deck"general replied.

Right then, thy noticed Witches sitting at the table.

"It's good that you're here too"Saltarski said releasing the sigh of relief.

"The same her"Lucchini said.

"And what are you doing here?"Sanya asked the two Japanese soldiers.

"W were sent as support when the first shots were fired"Kozue explained.

"Guys! Bad news!"the soldier sitting at computer said.

"What is it?"Rin asked.

"Better if I show it at big screen"he replied.

He then turned on the TV that was hanging in the mess hall. On it, was the camera image showing the lines of transport planes dropping the paratroopers and vehicles. Some of the transports were being shot down, the same as paratroopers and vehicles.

"C-17"Saltarski stated"Probably the ones that we didn't took from Rammstein Air Force Base"

"But the closest airbase in Europe is too far from here! It's beyond their range! They not return to base!"Hisako said.

"Maybe they do not have to come back"Janos said.

Witches also watched as the C-17 drops the equipment and paratroopers.

"That's a lot of soldiers and weapons"Shirley said.

"I counted about 200 dropped troops and 21 vehicles"Perrine added.

"But we have advantage, right?"Erica asked.

Then, the mess hall was shaken by an explosion.

"Okay, we must break through on the Main Deck"Sobczak said.

"But how? In the corridors, we'll be totally exposed"Helena noticed.

Then, Hisako reminded herself something.

"Hey, Witches can create some kind of shield!"she said.

"Really?"surprised Janos said.

"Yes, I saw it myself".

"Okay. Girls!"general said turning to Witches"I have a task for you".

"What task?"Lucchini asked.

Everyone looked at her like she was wise otherwise.

"Oh"Finally it reached her.

"You want to use us as living shields?!"outraged Perrine yelled"No way!"

"Easy, Perrine"Minna glared Perrine with sight. Next, she turned back to Sobczak"We'll help, but we want to do it quick".

"Why?"Helena asked.

"Our magic has it's limits. After a long time of using it without rest, it can exhaust"Minna explained"And…Mio power is almost gone".

"How is it 'gone'?"Natalia asked.

"I'm 20 years old. In this age, Witch magic began to weaken until it finally disappear"Mio explained"Of course, some Witches have this luck that their powers are still active even over 20 years old".

General looked at Witches, then at the screen with the transports that ended dropping soldiers.

"Okay. We'll try to break through as fast as we can"Sobczak said.

Then he turned to the others.

"We also need some heavier weapons. They'll probably try to stop us with everything they have"he said to Saltarski.

"Count us in"the familiar voice said from behind.

Everyone turned to see Diana and three other girls. They was dressed in standard uniforms, but their bulletproof vests had additional Nitrosium Steel plates on top. The Nitrosium Steel were also on their shoulders and knees. But the most interesting were their weapons. It was 50mm cannons held like minigun.

"Second lieutenant Szczera and her Nitrosium Heavy Troopers"Sobczak said"This is heavy weapons that we need".

"Okay, everyone take weapons! We're moving out!"Helena announced.

"But we don't have any weapons. They stayed with our Strikers in hangar on Deck 3. Except of major"Shirley noticed.

"When we get on the Main Deck, we ask soldiers from other schools, if they even sent someone, to gave some weapons to you"Saltarski provided.

"Okay, let's go!"Janos said and went to the exit.

Before they exited, Barkhorn stopped Yoshika.

"Maybe it'll be better if you stay here and help those doctors"the Karlsland Witch said.

"O-Okay…"Yoshika replied hesitantly.

Barkhorn followed the rest and exited the room. Right then, Yoshika heard:

"Multiple gunshot wounds. He's not gonna make it, I tell ya. We can't even move him to hospital".

She turned to see two doctors standing over a wounded JSDF soldier. She cam up to them.

"I can help him"she said as she stood next to the table.

"Really? How?"one of doctors asked.

"I can use my magic".

Doctors looked at her a little sceptically, but they allowed her for this. She looked at the wounded soldier. He was at the same age as her and had brown hair. On his face, pain was taking place. Next she looked at his wound. He had three deep gunshot wounds.

Yoshika put her hands on the wounds. The blue light appeared, and soon wounds disappeared. After seeing this, doctors were amazed.

"How'd you do that?"the first asked.

"This is my ability. Thanks to it, I can heal almost every wound"Yoshika explained.

She again looked at the wounded soldier. By a few seconds, she saw his green eyes, but they were quickly covered by eyelids.

"He now needs some rest. Thanks for help"the second doctor said.

"No problem. Can I help someone else?"

He made a circle with his hand, showing all wounded soldiers.

"I hope it'll not be problematic?"the first doctor asked.

"No. I'll try help us much as I can"Yoshika replied standing and going towards another table.

June 12

00:07

Corridor on the Deck 3

After many killed enemies and fired bullets, they managed to get to Deck 3. Right now, they were engaging another group of commandos. Witches, of course except of Sakamoto, was providing a support with their shields, when meanwhile rest was shooting. Chinese were more than surprised seeing the Witches shields.

"Grenade!"Saltarski shouted throwing grenade.

Grenade landed in the middle of group of commandos and killed them all, but soon, more cam on their places.

"There are too many of them!"Natalia shouted.

"媽的！摧毀這些...不管它是什麼! (Destroy this…Whatever it is!)"one of commandos shouted.

"Hang on, girls! It's our turn!"Diana said to the Witches.

Witches knew what she meant. They let Diana and her Heavy Troopers to step forward. They aimed their 28mm cannons at the Chinese.

"Fire!"Diana ordered and she and three other girl fired their cannons.

The missiles hit the commandos and exploded, covering them in gold-white flames. The commandos started to tussle, but soon all of the burning commandos fell on the ground.

"Alright, let's move!"general ordered.

But before they could move even a centimeter, another group of about 40 commandos run from around the corner. Witches again activated their shields, and they immediately were hit by the wave of bullets from Type 95s.

"We can't handle it any longer!"Minna said, almost kneeling from the power of bullets.

"Damn it! We could expect that they'll be protecting this place the most!"Grzegorz said.

"We need to make up something!"Brakhorn shouted.

Meanwhile, Perrine used her ability and electrocuted one of commandos, but it was not enough.

"I…can't…"Shirley whispered when her shield almost disappeared.

Right then, they heard a clattering sound. Before they knew, they saw as one of commandos been grabbed by something resembling a spider web. The other commandos aimed in the direction of web and started shooting. Soon, they started to withdraw. Next, from around the corner exited…a two meter high spider and started to chase the commandos. Witches and soldiers stood on the corridor fork and watched the spider chasing the Chinese.

"What was that?"Lucchini asked unable to get out of amazement.

"Our main scientist, Dariusz Orłowski, likes to experiment with animals. This is probably one of his newest creations"Adrian explained.

"And you have this scientist here?"Erica asked, hearing that this scientist do such things.

"Yes. It's true that his inventions sometimes sucks, but well. He's our main scientist"Diana said.

"I propose to go in the opposite direction"Perrine said.

"Yeah, you're right. Much to our luck, the corridor in this direction is clear"one of GROM soldiers said.

"How'd you know?"Eila asked.

"I just got info from our Cameraman, that guy in the Mess Hall that is hacking the security systems"he explained.

"Okay, let's go. I just made contact with general Enre Nagy from Hungarian Army. He says that they managing to push the Chinese back"general said.

They entered the opposite corridor, and went to the entrance on Deck 2. As they walked, they could hear the sounds of spider and soldiers being torn by him.

00:22

Main Deck, Park

When they entered the Main Deck, they were greeted by explosions and a gunshots sounds. In the distance, they could see some fire blazing on board.

"Wow"Shirley said seeing Polish F-16 firing a missile at a Chinese Type 63 tank in the distance.

"Don't stop!"Perrine said.

They soon found themselves in an fortified perimeter where were stationing some Polish, French, American, Hungarian and Czech forces. Behind the perimeter was standing an armored column of Leopard 2 PL, AMX-56 Leclerc, PT-91, 16 and 17, T-72s and M1 Abrams tanks, Borsuk and BMP-2 AFVs and, at the end, BTR-80s, Stryker and BRDM-2s APCs. Together it was about 30 vehicles.

They stopped in front of a tactical table. Next to the table was standing two persons. First of them was a medium-size boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in Hungarian Defense Force general uniform. The second one was a tall girl with long, black, curly hair and gray eyes. She was dressed in a Czech Army general uniform.

"General Enre Nagy of the Hungarian Defense Force and general Bela Tripomova of the Czech Army"Helena explained to Witches.

"And good that this time, French didn't ignored us like in 1939"Saltarski added.

Sobczak came up to two generals.

"What's the situation?"he asked.

"We managed to shot down their transports"Nagy said"but they're still defending. I hope that the situation on the lower decks looks better".

"Yes. We slowly taking back the ground".

"Although the air bombardment is still going, the Chinese brought some FN-6 shoulder fired SAMs"Tripomova said"We lost two Polish F-16, seven F-15 and nine L-159".

"And what about headmasters?"Janos asked.

Nagy and Tripomova looked at each other.

"Captured. All four"the Czech general said.

"Damn it"Janos cursed.

Witches watched as the generals were talking. Then, Minna turned to Saltarski.

"What about those weapons for us?"she asked.

"I'll talk to someone. I'll be right back"Grzegorz said and walked away.

"I see that Chinese didn't though about it"Natalia said.

"About what?"Lynette asked.

"I just talked to my buddy from Czech Army. He said that Chinese are totally cut off in the middle of the ship. Far away from the entrances on lower decks and now, they are being torn from two sides"the Slovakian girl explained. With her resemblance to Erica and her voice sounding like Erica, it was for Witches a strange thing.

"From two sides? Who are fighting on the second one?"Lucchini asked.

"He also told that it's British, Germans, Russians and Belarusians"Natalia replied.

Soon, the female French soldier came up to generals.

"Sir, we're ready to finally break them"the soldier said.

After hearing the soldier voice, they knew who she was. When she turned to the Witches, they finally saw the girl with Shirley face.

"Oh, hey. It's good to see you again"Crystal said.

"The same here…um…Crystal, right?"Minna asked.

"Yes"she then looked at Shirley"Heh. It's still hard to believe that you're my double".

"Yeah. The same here"Shirley said stretching back of her head.

Right then, Grzegorz and his GROM soldier returned with weapons for Witches.

"This is your weapons. G36s for you"one of soldiers said, giving the riffles to Minna, Erica and Barkhorn"M4A1 for you"he gave it to Shirley"And because we don't have any Finnish riffle, for you, we have or wz.96 Beryl"he said giving it to Eila".

The Witches looked at their riffles and smiled.

"And what about weapons for us?"Lynette asked.

"You better stay here. Full fire exchange in forest or in the urban region is dangerous"Sakamoto said"Besides, seeing all those dead bodies can work really bad on your psychics".

"Hey! So why are YOU going there?!"Lucchini exclaimed.

"We're more used to seeing death from closer ranges"Minna explained.

The younger Witches had to admit her right.

"Okay. We have the task"Saltarski said"We have to save the school headmasters and eliminate every Chinese resistance in the quarterdeck".

"Meanwhile, we'll take care of those guys in the middle of the ship"Crystal said.

"Alright, give the Chinese what they deserve for!"general Nagy said.

"Let's move!"Helena ordered.

Before they leaved, Shirley came up to Diana.

"I forgot to ask. How's this called?"she asked pointing at Diana's cannon.

"Oh, this? It's WIST-22, the Nitrosium cannon designed by PREXER Sp. z.o.o"Diana explained"After Nitrosium discover, almost every nation that have it's deposit, created such cannons for their heavy infantry".

Shirley nodded, and joined the Witches.

The convoy of tanks, IFVs and APCs started to move and directed to the main combat zone. Diana and her soldiers followed them together with Crystal, Kozue and Rin.

Witches together with Saltarski, Hisako, Adrian, Helena, Natalia, Janos and GROM directed to the quarterdeck.

And younger Witches and generals stayed at the perimeter.

00:49

Quarterdeck, main doors

The group cam up to the armored doors. They stood on both sides. Grzegorz tried to open the doors.

"Locked"he stated.

"Wait, I'll take care of it"Adrian said aiming at doors with his riffle, but Grzegorz lowered his weapon.

"You know that this is a 5 centimeter armored steel? You won't destroy them with ordinary riffle.

"Let me try"Barkhorn said.

She stood in front of doors and activated her Super Strength. She struggled with doors only by three seconds before they opened.

"Having someone with Super Strength is always useful"one of GROM soldiers stated.

They entered the quarterdeck. Their main goal was the ship bridge, where the headmasters were held.

As they were walking through corridor, they didn't met any resistance.

"Strange. There should be the hive of Chinese"one of GROM soldiers said.

Right then, the bullet passed next to his ear. Everyone quickly hid behind some boxes and walls that was laying in the corridor.

"And you called the wolf out of the woods"Saltarski said.

"Sorry"the soldier replied.

The fire exchange started. Every side was firing at the second, trying to take them out. Suddenly, first Chinese commando got hit.

"Got him!"Erica exclaimed but she quickly hid, because two bullets just passed near her head.

"Focus on shooting, Hartmann!"Brakhorn shouted.

"Grenade!"Helena yelled and throw one into the commandos.

The grenade exploded and made a little chaos in Chinese blocking party. Some commandos lay down on the floor, to get the minimum damage from the grenade, or been killed. The laying ones were quickly mow by GROM.

"Clear!"Grzegorz communicated.

Witches passed next to Chinese commandos bodies. The blood stains already formed under them.

"You really had to mow them like that?"Mio asked pointing at the closest body.

"Listen. Chinese Suicide Corps motto says: 'Fight until death'. And if I have to be honest, they're always apply to it"Grzegorz said.

They passed by the bodies and entered another corridor. But there was waiting another surprise. When they entered it, they were greeted by fire from Type 89 heavy machine gun. They hid behind the corridor turn.

"Shit, I didn't expected that"Janos said.

"We have to take this MG out"Natalia added.

"Let's threw a grenade there"Shirley said.

"Easy to say. They'll be shooting in everything what will lean out the turn"Hisako said.

Then, Erica came up with idea.

"Let me use Sturm on him"she said.

Everyone looked at her.

"How you want to use your ability without leaning out? He'll shoot you!"Minna said.

"I don't heave to lean out"Erica said activating her familiar.

She then made a little tornado and put it on the fire line of Type 89. The gunner started to shoot at tornado, but all bullets were grabbed by it. The surprised commando was looking as the tornado spinning and keeps the bullets. Suddenly, tornado threw all bullets at the commando, piercing him. GROM soldiers and others looked at it with respect.

"How'd you made this little tornado?"Hisako asked as tornado disappeared.

"My special ability, Sturm, allow me to control the air"Erica explained.

"(whistle) Girl, respect to you"Grzegorz said.

"Okay, move!"Adrian said and they all directed towards the bridge.

01:12

ORP _Cracow_ bridge

On the way, they met smaller resistance that on the beginning. The were standing behind the doors leading on the bridge. Suddenly, Saltarski's communicator rang.

"What is it?"he said as he picked up the call.

"This is Crystal. All Chinese forces on the middle of ship was eliminated. We're just removing their corpses and vehicle wrecks"Crystal said.

"Good"Saltarski replied and ended the call.

"Who was that?"Eila asked.

"Crystal. They just finished those guys in the middle of the ship"he replied.

"So we just need to clean the bridge"Barkhorn said.

"And save the captain and headmasters"Helena added.

"So, when we coming in?"Shirley asked.

"Soon. First, we have to fell the good moment"Grzegorz replied.

The doors on the bridge were looking like the ones to the quarterdeck. But they had one difference. They were thinner and had only 2 centimeters of thickness.

After a few seconds, they heard as someone is speaking with a Chinese accent:

"I'll ask one last time, Coalition scum. What are you planning? Why are you going to South America?"

"Come closer"someone said.

After a few seconds, they could heard sound of hit.

"Ouch! You Slovak shit!"the Chinese said.

"And this is our beloved headmaster Rusnak!"Natalia exclaimed.

"By the way, why are you going there, where this Chinese was speaking?"Shirley asked.

"We have to take part in Operation: America Libre, which is prepared by South American Military High Schools and Regular Armies. It's goal is to push the Chinese back from South America"Helena explained.

"After we take back Buenos Aires, where Chinese made their South America Command, we have to get back and prepare for invasion on continental Europe"Saltarski added.

"You are prepared for everything"Eila said.

"Just for this two things"Janos said.

"And how'd you know that they don't push back Coalition again?"Mio asked.

"Because now, we have the element of surprise. Chinese don't expect any retaking operation so shortly after the fall of the continent"Adrian said"At least, this is what our Intelligence told us".

"Could you be more focused? We have to save the headmasters"Grzegorz reminded.

"Sure"Erica said.

They were standing behind the doors by next few minutes. Suddenly, Grzegorz said:

"Okay, we're coming in!"

One of GROM kicked the doors. Due to their weaker armor, they opened easily. Behind them was standing a single Chinese soldier. The sudden open of door had to really surprise him, because he almost dropped his riffle. The soldier that opened the door fired a series from his GROT that pierced the commando from his chest to the eyes. The other Chinese quickly aimed at the doors. They tried to come closer to the Witches and soldiers, but when they tried, they been immediately hit. The commandos didn't even could grenade there, because it was too close, and they could get those thrown grenade back.

The firefight lasted by next three minutes. When the last commando was killed, the only thing that left was to free the headmasters.

"All right, sir. It won't take long"Janos said, coming up to a middle aged men with short brown hair, blue eyes and dressed in elegant white suit. He untied his hands and said"Done, headmaster Hótok"next, he done the same with a young woman with long blonde hair tied in a braid and with green eyes, dressed in blue shirt and black skirt"Done, headmaster Olionova"next was the young man with short black hair, gray eyes and dressed in deep black suit"You're free too, headmaster Rusnak"and at the end left only headmaster Kruszyński and the man with short brown beard, brown eyes and dressed in navy blue uniform and white admiral hat. Janos untied their hands and hands of sailors"And everyone are free now".

"Is someones needs help?"Hisako asked.

"No, lieutenant Nikamura. We're all okay"Kruszyński replied.

The headmasters and ship captain stood in one line, and looked at they're rescuers. They mainly was looking at the Witches.

"So. You are the Witches that everyone is talking about?"headmaster Hotók asked.

"Yes, headmaster. And we're pleased to meet you"Minna replied.

"Thanks for saving us"headmaster Olionova said and after looking at the MHS students that was pulling eyebrows, she quickly added"And of course thanks to you".

Then, headmaster Kruszyński turned to the ship captain:

"Admiral Kołoda, could you call someone for those bodies?"

"Of course"Kołoda replied and went to the main console.

Right then, Helena noticed something.

And it was nothing nice.

One of the commandos, that should be dead, was pulling up his hand in which he was hanging a gun. And what was more worse is that he was aiming at Barkhorn. He started to pull the trigger.

"No!"Helena shouted and stood on the fire line.

There was a bang, and soon Helena felt a stinging pain. After the bang, Adrian immediately turned and fired at the Chinese. His head disappeared and his brain landed on the wall.

"I though that all should be dead!"Grzegorz said to one of his commandos.

"We though that they're all dead!"the commando replied.

"Hela!"Natalia screamed.

Everyone turned to see Helena falling on her knees. She held her hand on her left hip. When she removed the hand, everyone saw the blood which her uniform absorbed from the wound.

"Well…"Helena whispered"It could be worse…"

She soon fell on the ground. Natalia quickly turned Helena on her back and started to shaking her.

"Hela, don't fell asleep! Keep your eyes open!"the Slovak girl shouted.

Hisako knelt down next to Helena and started to checking her state. When she looked at the wound, she winced.

"Damn it. The bullet stroke her left lung"she assessed.

"It's bad, right?"worried Minna asked.

"Very bad. If we don't transport her to hospital quickly, she could die"Hisako explained.

"So what are we waiting for?"Barkhorn said.

She came up to Helena and raised her up. Everyone looked at her with surprise.

"What? If we have to quickly move her to hospital, let's move no"she explained"Besides, she just saved my life, and I want to return the favor".

They didn't knew that Helena was listening, even that she was almost unconscious. She tried to smile after this what she heard from Barkhorn, but before she could do it, everything went black.

XXX

Helena opened her eyes, only to see that she's standing on the edge of the lake. More precisely, it was a Black Lake, the deepest lake of Czech Republic. She also noticed that she was wearing a white dress in addition to her school uniform. She looked around, but she didn't noticed anyone.

"We meet again, huh?"someone suddenly said.

Helena quickly turned back, to see a 12 year old boy with short brown hair, blue eyes and dressed in white T-shirt and shorts. She smiled at his sight.

"Yes. It's seems like it"Helena replied.

The boy came up to her and looked at the horizon. There was a sunset.

"You are in very bad shape, you know?"the boy asked.

She looked at him and sighed.

"I know"Helena replied.

"And this everything only because you wanted to protect that girl".

For a moment, Helena though about this what she did.

"I saw so many death. And she…"Helena tried to say, but she was cut off.

"She's from another world, and you wanted her to get back there alive. I know it, sis"the boy said.

"What should I do now, Petr?"

Petr looked at the sunset once again.

"You still asking? You should return and keep your promise"Petr replied softly.

He turned on heel and walked away. Helena wanted to do the same, but before she could, everything went black again.

07:11

ORP _Cracow_ board hospital

Helena opened her eyes. She saw many other people laying on the beds and her combat uniform and her daily uniform on the chair. She looked at her left hand and saw that shes hooked to a drop. She also felt something heavy laying on her right side. When she looked at it, she saw…Natalia laying on her right side with her head. Helena smiled and stroked the Slovakian head.

"She's here since you get there"said person with her voice.

When she looked at the voice direction, she saw Gertrude sitting next to her bed.

"I could guess that she'll be here. Maybe she's a little slovenly, but she's loyal"Helena said with smile.

"Just like Hartmann"Barkhorn said and the two chuckled.

"How long I was unconscious?"Helena asked.

"About seven hours. Hisako said that you have wounded lung. I'm still impressed that doctors managed to save you"Barkhorn explained.

Helena lifted the blanket that she was covered with. She saw the bandage tied around her waist. Actually, the bandage were not big enough to cover the whole of the operation scar and she could see some of it.

"Well. The medicine went forward by all those years. And thank you for that you carried me here.

Barkhorn blushed a little.

"H-How'd you know?"she asked.

"I've been conscious by few seconds when you lifted me"Helena explained.

"No problem"Brakhorn replied"But I have bigger question."

"Ask."

"Who's Petr?"

The Czech girl looked at the Witch.

"Where do you know him from?"

"You were repeating his name when I was caring you."

Helena looked at her and saddened a little.

"He's my younger brother. He stayed in Brno with my mother. During the battle, they didn't been evacuated and since we left Europe, I don't have any contact with them"Helena explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that"Barkhorn said.

"I should have photo of mine and him in one of pockets in my combat uniform."

Barkhorn came up to the chair on which the uniforms were laying. She took Helena's Vz. 95 leaf pattern uniform and searched it's pockets. In one of them she found a photo of Helena and 12 years old boy. They both were smiling. Barkhorn noticed that this photo was resembling the photo of her and Chris. Then, from other pocked fell out a little car. It looked like and old truck and was painted in the style resembling flames. Barkhorn pick up the car and went back to the bed.

"It's this photo?"she asked.

"Yes"Helena said taking the photo"It was made at the start of the First Year of Military high School. It was one of the best days of my life."

"I have siblings too."Barkhorn said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Younger sister. Her name is Christiane, but I usually call her Chris."

"And what's she's doing now?"

This time, Barkhorn saddened a little.

"When Neuroi, the alien race we fighting in our world, invaded Karlsland, Chris was injured during the Battle of Berlin. Since then, she was in coma"she explained.

"Sorry to hear that"Helena said this time.

"But lately she's doing more and more well and woke up from coma."

"Well…I can only wish her a quick recovery."

Then, Barkhorn reminded about the little car.

"And if I can ask"Barkhorn said showing Helena the car"what is it?"

Helena took the car and looked at it.

"It's from my brother. He gave me this that I don't forget about him. He knew that a Hot Wheels car will be the best for that"Helena replied.

"Hot Wheels?"Barkhorn asked hearing that name.

"It's a mark of model cars produced since 1969 by American toy producer Mattel. The mark also consist the race tracks for this cars. Every car have it's name and this one was called the 49 Ford F1 if I remember."

At that moment, Natalia started to move her head. When she opened her eyes and saw Helena talking to Barkhorn, big smile appeared on her face.

"Hela!"she shouted as she hugged her friend.

Helena totally surprised by this, had no other choice that hug Natalia.

"I was afraid, you know?"Natalia asked.

"I know. But you should go on lessons, you know?"

"All lessons were canceled because of those night attack."

Right then, another person entered the room. It was general Tripomova, the person that nobody expected to be there.

She came up to the Helena's bed and said:

"I see that you're recovering better that I expected."

"As always, general"Helena replied.

General only chuckled.

"I told you. When we're not on battlefield, just call me Bela, right?"Tripomova asked with smile.

"Right"Helena replied also with smile.

Barkhorn looked at the two with little confuse. Helena noticed this.

"Bela is my childhood friend. We knew each other since kindergarten"Helena explained.

"And Helena is the one that always tried to be more 'disciplined' when I tried to be the more laid-back"general added"Besides, since I became general, I try my best to be more disciplined in battle. And honestly, I'm always damn tired after this."

"Hm. Good to know"Barkhorn said as she stood up.

Before she left the room, she heard Helena asking:

"Where are you going?"

"Captain Salt…Saltar…"she tried to say.

"Saltarski"Bela said.

"Exactly"Barkhorn said"He has to present the history of your world to us."

"Okay. Have a nice history lesson"Helena said.

Barkhorn left the room and walked to the school library where Saltarski was waiting.

XXX

 **And this is the end of chapter 3. Chapter 4 is en route. At now, this is the only fight, but as I said before, the more huge scale battles will be presented in the future chapters. At now, this fight is only the prologue to the Invasion of South America.**

James: I have a question.

 **Ask.**

James: Why you put this part with Helena talking to Petr?

 **Well. It was inspired by a scene from ,,CSI:Miami" and I though that this story also can have something like this.**

Lynette: I think I even know which scene.

 **Really?**

Lynette: The scene where Horatio meets his wife in his mind.

 **Exactly.**

Ellen: And why you put this giant spider here?

 **I just wanted to show Orłowski crazy scientist part of mind. And triggers.**

Ellen: Ohhhhh! Now it makes sense.

Abla: No, it's not!

 **Oh, well, well. Abla. One of the first girls in Egyptian Army. What are you doing here?**

Abla: I just wanted to say that.

 **Oh. OK. But now, it's everything. Gamer83888-out.**

James: See ya!

Lynette: Bye!

Ellen: Hei!

Abla: Abla-out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4. This time, there will be more history aspects and telling. Less action like in previous chapter, but well. Witches should knew about some of our world history, right?**

Sakamoto: (yawns) Yeah, I agree with you.

 **I see that you still feel the effects of this night battle.**

Sakamoto: As hell. It was hardest battle I've ever fought in.

 **Even harder that Battle of Britannia?**

Sakamoto: (nods her head)

Saltarski: (yawns) This battle also left it's trace on me. But now, better start the story.

 **Sure, Boss.**

Chapter 4

,,A history lesson"

June 12, 2022

08:03

ORP _Cracow_ , library

The Witches and Saltarski just entered the library. Before their meeting, Minna and Sakamoto told the others about the fate that met the Krystian's younger sister. Witches were shocked after hearing that someone can do such thing to four year old girl. They paid him condolences and went to the library with him, passing along the trail of the night clash. Bullet holes, blood stains and other such things.

The library of the ship was biggest even than the library of New York Times. It had assortment of almost 50, 000 books. When Witches saw it, their jaws almost dropped.

"NO BOOKS! WHY BOOKS!"Lucchini whined.

"Hey, Francesca, be nice"Shirley said to her little friend.

"Your commander was wondering about our world history, so the only best way to tell you is to show you"Saltarski explained.

"Exactly. And, just call me Minna"Minna said.

"Sure"the pole said with smile."And you can call me Krystian, or Christian to make it easier for you".

They were welcomed by cold look of the librarian. It was a 70 year old woman with gray hair tied in a braid and green eyes. She was wearing red semicircular glasses and blue dress. Krystian approached her and asked:

"Is everything what I was asking for was prepared?"

The librarian looked at him and said coldly:

"Table number 3".

Krystian only nodded and with Witches walked away.

"You librarian looks scary"Lucchini said.

"You're surprised? She's working here since Soviets sold us this ship"Saltarski replied.

They approached the table three. Next to it was standing a young girl with brown eyes, long dark hair and a flower plugged in hair. In addition to the others, she had darker skin. She was placing books on table.

Saltarski came up to her.

"Is this everything we have about history?"he asked.

"No. It's only those books that I though would be best for a history of world telling"the girls replied.

Saltarski looked at the Witches, then again on girl and said:

"Okay, thanks for this, Jaelle".

"No problem"Jaelle replied and walked away.

Witches looked at the girls as she leaved the library.

"Captain"Eila raised her hand.

"What is it?"

"She didn't looked like others that we saw there".

Saltarski was confused, but soon he nodded.

"Because she's not a Pole but Roma"he explained.

"Wait, Roma? Isn't it a ethnic minority?"Perrine asked.

Saltarski nodded.

"So, what she's doing in your army?"Shirley asked.

"The Ethnic Minorities Act of December 2018. It gave the ethnical minorities in Poland more rights that until now were only available to native Poles"he explained.

Witches nodded in understanding. The boy showed them their chair and they sat on them.

"Okay. Before we start, I wanted to tell…"Saltarski tried to say, but he was cut off by bark.

Suddenly, a German Shepherd ran into the library. Witches noticed that the dog is running in their direction. The dog jumped and Witches made a place for him. It landed on table and soon jumped on Saltarski turning him over with chair.

"Captain, are you okay?"Minna asked.

But to the Witches surprise, they didn't heard any sounds that could point on that the dog have rabies, but…laughing. They noticed that dog is licking Saltarski's face and he's laughing loudly. The librarian sent a disapproval look to them.

"S-Stop! Riley, I…I can't breath! Hahaha!"

The dog calmed down and Saltarski stood up and sat on chair once more.

"Are you OK?"Mio asked.

"Yes. She was just happy that I'm alright"he said and turned to dog"Sorry that you had to be worried about me after what happened this night. But it's okay now."

Witches was looking at it with little smiles.

"Let me introduce. This is Riley, 2nd Infantry Battalion mascot and my personal pet"Saltarski introduced the dog to Witches.

"She's cute"Yoshika said trying to stroke Riley, but quickly withdrew her hand when the dog started to barking.

"Riley, behave!"Saltarski scolded the dog. Riley just lowered her ears"Forgive her, she just don't like strangers."

Yoshika only nodded.

"Okay, can we start with the history?"Mio asked.

"Sure. We have 10 hours before you're meeting with General Council."

Lynette raised her hand.

"What is 'General Council'?"she asked.

"It's the main command organ of 4th School Fleet of Coalition, so our fleet. They're in charge of every operation we making"Saltarski explained.

"Thank you for explain"Lynette said.

"Before we start, I have three questions"Lucchini said raising her hand.

"What questions?"Saltarski said.

"First: What about that giant spider?"

Saltarski thought a moment and replied:

"We took care of him. At now, someone should throwing his body to the ocean as we speak".

Right then, behind the library window they could see a spider body falling into water.

"As I said. They threw him into water"Saltarski summed"And the second question?"

"How'd Chinese get onto the ship?"

Saltarski hissed then said:

"Do you remember as I told you that we're near coast of Senegal?"

"Yes"Barkhorn replied"And what about it?"

"We were there for supplies. Except of US, Egypt and Australia, African nations are our suppliers in food and ammo. And this time, Senegal gave them to us. In big containers"Saltarski explained.

"You want to tell that…"Perrine said as she started to knew where is this going.

"Chinese were hidden in those containers. I told command that we can't trust Senegal. And I was right"the boy said with satisfaction."And third?"

"Why there are so many girls fighting on the first line? In our world, women are only serves in army as Witches or nurses".

"Equal rights. Women have almost the same rights as men. They also can be politicians. Example is Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the president of Croatia".

"Female president? It's not a thing that you see everyday"Barkhorn stated.

"Yeah, right".

He then took the first book.

"Okay. Let's start. If you notice something known for you from your world history, tell me about it"Saltarski said and started from the prehistoric times.

13:11

After about 4 hours of talking, Saltarski told the Witches history from the Stone Age to the beginning of 20th Century. Witches were surprised that this history is very similar to their own. Of course, he also said about all of many important inventions and other things that changed or was very important in history.

"From what I see, our worlds are quite similar"Minna stated.

"It seems like it. And good to know that you had your American Wars, as I call the wars important in America history, and French, or Gallian, Revolution"Saltarski replied.

"But in our world, there was not as many wars as here"Shirley added.

"So you are the more lucky ones. If in your world was less number of wars, then you should be happy".

"We are happy about that"Yoshika said.

The Polish soldier took another book called ,,The history of 20th Century" and opened it on first page.

"Now the most interesting, in my opinion, century in history"he said.

"Why the most interesting?"Erica asked.

"It's the century of big changes. The century in which the big empires were falling and raising, where technology rushed forward like never before. And in which the period that could end the humanity on Earth was"Saltarski explained.

Witches looked at each other. The last sentence sounded like the announcement of apocalypse.

"What do you mean by that?"Minna asked.

Saltarski only looked at Riley and said:

"Let's say that if Soviets would fire their nukes at America, today you'll probably get on the nuclear desert".

Witches looked confused.

"Easy. I'll come to this soon"he provided"First, I can say that the first decade of 20th century was such time of technological and science inventions. In 1903 the Wright brothers first time flew the plane, Albert Einstein established the special theory of relativity, bakelite, the first plastic, was created or the helicopter was invented".

Then, Perrine raised her hand.

"Yes, miss Clastermann?"

"The first three things took place in our world"she said"but what is 'helicopter'?"

"You don't have helicopters?"Saltarski was clearly surprised.

Witches shook their heads.

"Hm. Okay then. You'll see what is it later anyway"Krystian said as he then opened the book on other page"Also, two important events took place in first half of 1910s of this century. It was the creation of Ford T that started the production of mass motorization in 1913 and establishment of general theory of relativity in 1915".

"1915"Minna said"The second year of 1st Neuroi War".

"So there was war from 1914 to 1918 in your world too?"Krystian asked.

"Yes. With Neuroi. Unfortunately, we lost it"Mio said.

Saltarski widened his eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, wait. You said that you lost the war with those aliens?"he asked.

"Yes".  
"So, how do you still alive?"

"We don't know. After the war, Neuroi just withdraw from Earth and was not seen until the Fuso Sea Accident"Minna explained.

Saltarski took a deep breath and looked at Riley again. The Shepherd just sent him a asking look. The boy nodded to dog and continued:

"Well then. In our world, in this period lasted one of the biggest conflicts in human history—the World War 1 also know as the Great War".

"The Great War?"Lynette asked.

"Yes. Because it was first such a big war. It was going on in Europe, Asia, Africa, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean and twenty two countries was fighting in it and caused death of over fourteen million people"Saltarski explained.

After hearing this, Witches were stunned. Until now, they though that only Neuroi can kill as many people as fourteen million. That was the losses of humans in the 1st Neuroi War.

"But let's start from beginning"Saltarski said. He activated the computer that was standing on the table. He opened a search and written ,,The political map of Europe in 1914". He found the one of maps and opened it. Next, he turned the monitor to the Witches that they could see it too. Witches were surprised seeing that map is almost the same as their Europe map now.

"Hey, it's look like our Europe"Lucchini noticed.

"Hm?"Saltarski asked.

"This countries look like those ones in our world"Minna completed the Lucchini sentence. She pointed at country marked as German Empire"The German Empire looks like Karlsland, Austria-Hungary looks like Ostmark and Russia looks like Orussia. But in our world Scandinavia, except of Suomus, is one country and there is the Venezia"she said pointing at this places.

"Okay, good to know. But now, let me explain"he said and started"In the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th, Europe was divided into two alliances: The Central Powers consists of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, and Entente consist of France, United Kingdom and Russia. Both alliance were prepared for war, because it was a matter of time before war broke out between them".

Next, he pointed on a little country under Austria-Hungary:

"And, in 1914, the tensions finally reached it's maximum level. Everything after this what happened in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina".

"What happened there?"Sanya asked.

"At that time, Bosnia was the part of Austria-Hungary Empire. On June 28, 1914 the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, the Empire throne successor, was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, the assassin from Serbian nationalist organization Black Hand, which was also responsible for the assassination of king of Serbia, Aleksander Obrenovic and his wife Draga Obrenovic. I'm talking about organization, not Princip himself".

Saltarski showed the photo of Princip to the Witches.

"Yeah, he definitely looks like someone who can do such things"Perrine said after seeing him.

Krystian nodded.

"And what happened next?"Yoshika questioned.

"Austria had info about that Serbian government organized the assassination, gave an ultimatum with unacceptable terms to Serbia. Of course, Germany supported them. In addition, Entente supported Serbia. The government of Serbia agreed most of them".

"Which ones?"Lynette asked.

"Mainly on wavier of right to Bosnia and participation of Austria-Hungary in investigation about the Sarajevo Assassination. But one term was not to agree for Serbia"Witches were waiting in tension on what term that could be"They don't wanted the investigation in the Serbian territory".

"Why?"Shirley asked"Why they don't wanted this?"

Krystian only raised his hands in gesture ,I don't know'.

"Maybe they just had something behind ears"the Pole said with smile."Coming back. On July 24, 1914, the Russian government announced the will to defend Serbia in the event of an Austro-Hungarian attack. On July 26, Austria-Hungary and Germany rejected the British proposal to convene an international conference to resolve the dispute. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared the war on Serbia, and at the moment a "domino rule" was triggered, triggered by a complicated system of international alliances. On July 29, Russia ordered a partial mobilization, but only against Austria-Hungary and as a stepping stone for Serbia. The next day (July 30), however, Russia announced a general mobilization. On 31 July Germany threatened to declare war in the event that Russia would not cancel the mobilization. In response to this, on August 1, France also announced mobilization".

"You have a good historical knowledge"Eila noticed.

"I don't remember anything. I'm telling you this what I have in mind or from the books"the boy stated"In 1915, Germans organized the first aerial bombardments with use of zeppelin airships. London and Paris were regularly attacked".

"Just like Neuroi bombers did"Sakamoto notted.

"I can believe in this. Also the first air battles between fighters took place"next, the boy wrote something in computer and showed the Witches a black-white map with marked countries and a big portion of black lines at the United Kingdom waters"Because of many supplies coming to UK from it's dominions such as Canada or Australia and even United States, Germans launched a submarine war in British territorial waters, trying to starve British. In this situation, every transport ship, no matter if from neutral or engaged country, was sunk by German Navy. Also, in the trenches of Western Front, both sides used a chemical weapons that caused many casualties".

"Sounds brutal"Sanya said.

"And it was brutal. First such attack took place in the city of Ypres in Belgium. The Sulfur Mustard, or Mustard Gas, was used by Germans. In 1916, on August 27, Kingdom of Romania, although that it had a German king, joined the Entente, but was quickly defeated as Central Powers that captured Bucharest".

"Wait, did you said Bucharest?"Minna asked.

"Yes. And what about that?"

"Because Bucharest is the capital of Dacia in our world"Perrine added.

"Dacia? I know only the car mark about such name. And from what I know, the Roman Empire called Romania like that"Then, he reminded something"Oh, yeah. In your world, Roman Empire existed longer".

"Can you show us the map of Romania?"Yoshika asked.

He quickly searched the map of Romania during World War 1 and showed it to Witches.

"Wow, Romania even have the same shape"Lynette noticed.

"1916 was also the year when Military High Schools were created. First, British launched the HMS _Queen Victoria_ , the first ever Schools Carrier, in order to teach more soldiers and send them on the front line. At first, such schools were only for superpowers like Britain, France or Germany. But soon, the became common".

"It's good thing"Minna said"I mean, that they became common".

"Of course it is. But continuing"Saltarski continued"On the West, both sides couldn't break through enemy defences. In Italy, the Alpine Mountains didn't let Italians and Austrians to do any major push. Also, the life in trenches had a harsh conditions. Mud, vermin, rats and the smell of decaying corpses put soldiers nerves to the test.

Witches winced after hearing about the life in trenches. They knew that trenches are hard places to live, but they didn't knew that is that much. Saltarski, however, continued:

"In the spring of 1917, the French soldiers begin mutinies that been suppressed. In the same time, countries like Brazil, Portugal or Peru started to declare war on Central Powers. And to make the matter worse for Entente, the revolutions started in Russia".

Sanya raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"What do you mean by 'revolutions'?"the Orussian Witch asked.

"Eh"Saltarski sighed and replied"Exhausted by war, Russia suffered more than 1,7 million casualties. Also, Centrals forces managed to reach further inland. They conquered all of Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus and even reached Finland which was part of Russia at the time. Do you remember as I told about communism, the utopian ideology where are no social classes?"

Witches nodded.

"Exactly. After this losses, morale in Russia was at the lowest level on the front lines and among the public. That's why, on February and ended with the overthrow of Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II Romanov".

"They overthrew the Tsar?!"Sanya yelled after hearing this.

"So Orussia is Tsardom from what I think?"Saltarski asked.

Sanya nodded.

"Easy, I'm sure that something like that will not happen in Orussia"Eila said patting Sanya's head.

Saltarski only looked at them. He remembered as he was doing the same to his sister when he was putting her to bed. Riley, feeling that his owner begin to be sad, pressed her head to Saltarski's leg. Saltarski smiled and continued:

"At the same time, the United States of America, finds itself becoming a victim of the commercial blockade in the Atlantic as the transatlantic RMS _Lusitania_ was sunk by a German U-Boot. That's how they joined the war on the side of Entente".

"The same thing was with Liberion. They didn't fought in the First Neuroi War, until _Lusitania_ was sunk by a Neuroi sub"Barkhorn noticed.

"So the Neuroi also have ships?"Saltarski asked with interest.

"Yes"the Witch replied.

"Cool. But now, to the bottom. Meanwhile, in Russia, from the night of October 24 on 25, another revolution, this time the Bolshevik, started. They took control over the government and executed the old Tsar family. Unfortunately"he added after seeing Sanya's face after hearing about the fate of Tsar family"The Bolsheviks made a ceasefire with Centrals and that's how Russian Civil War between the Reds and Whites started".

"Reds and Whites?"Yoshika questioned.

Saltarski nodded.

"The Reds was Bolsheviks, because official color of communism is red, and Whites were the forces fighting against the Vladimir Lenin and Bolsheviks. Reds won the war and founded the Russian Federal Soviet Socialist Republic, and changed Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan into smaller Socialist Republics. Together, the country was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR in short or just Soviet Union"he explained.

"And this Soviet Union…How was the living there?"Sanya asked curious about this world Orussia.

"Honestly? It was a total dictatorship. There, you could go to gulag, the Soviet forced labor camp, only because you said something bad about the ruling party"Saltarski said according to truth.

Witches, especially Sanya, were shocked after hearing that in USSR only because of talking bad about ruling party you could go to jail.

Meanwhile, Saltarski opened book on another page and said:

"Now, as you probably know, the war started to coming to an end in 1918. When Russia was defeated, Germany moved troops on the West to breakthrough the trenches. They succeeded and started to marched on Paris".

"Did Germans entered the city?"Shirley asked.

"If they did, today we would be living in the Great German Empire. French pushed them back. In panic, Germans escaped to the north, letting the Entente to enter Belgium and retake the country. Really pissed by this losses on front line, in port of Kiel, the rebellion that soon changed into the full-scale revolution. This, forced the Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate and flee to Netherlands".

Then, a little trace of shock appeared on Karlsland Witches faces.

"The Kaiser abdicated?!"Minna asked.

"Yes"Saltarski replied"This thing led to the sign of Armistice and marked the end of World War I"he ended.

"And it's all?"Erica asked.

"Actually, no"Saltarski reply and said"On June 28, 1919 a peace treaty was signed at the Versailles. The Central Powers representatives was not invited and they had to agree on all victors conditions. Centrals had to pay very high compensation, and German, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires stopped to exist. This opened a way for new countries or colonies. British colonized Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Kuwait when French get Syria. Romania took Transylvania, Serbia took all Slavic terrains of Austria and, together with Montenegro, created Yugoslavia. Also, some nations gained independence".

"Which nations?"Lucchini asked.

"It was Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia"he replied.

After hearing the last country, Witches were clearly surprised.

"Isn't Helena and Natalia are from Czech Republic and Slovakia?"Sakamoto asked.

"Yes. The countries from which Helena and Natalia came, were one country. But continuing. Germany was punished the most. It's army was disbanded, colonies were taken by Entente and the Rhineland was demilitarized. Also, France, Belgium and Denmark took territories from Germany. And that's how the war ended. Entente created League of Nations too"Saltarski said and ending the WW1.

"Wow. That was…"Minna tried to say.

"I know what you want to say. But, this didn't changed anything. Humans are humans. We can't leave without war. But after the war, by next 10 years, nothing important happened. Nothing, until…"he was cut off by Shirley.

"Until the Great Crisis of 1929"the Liberion Witch said.

"It occurred in your world too?"the boy asked.

"Yes. From 1929 to 1933"Minna said.

"The same was with our crisis. But after it, something not good happened".

"What happened?"Perrine asked.

"Many democratic governments were overthrown and authoritarian governments appeared in it's place. Mainly it happened in countries like Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia or Romania. Also, in 1933, the Nazis won the national elections in Germany".

"The Nazis?"Barkhorn asked.

"Yes. They were leaded by Adolf Hitler"Saltarski reply"It's a little interesting story behind the Hitler. He was Austrian and at first he wanted to became…a painter".

"And painter won the national elections?"Erica asked.

"Well. He had a problem with painting faces. But coming back. The idea of his party was that all ideal Germans are the posterity of Aryans, the mythical race of Lords. And every ideal Germans have two main appearance features, the same as Aryans".

"What features was that?"Erica asked.

"The same as yours"Saltarski replied pointing at her.

All Witches looked at Erica.

"What do you mean by that?"Sakamoto asked.

"Blonde hair and blue eyes. The features of the so-called Ideal German, the ones that are the Aryans posterity"he explained.

Witches looked at Erica again.

"So…"Erica started to saying.

"Yes. You look like Ideal, or in modern times, stereotype German. But coming back. The Nazi party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, or NSGWP in short, was saying that the Germans as the posterity of Aryans have rights to rule the other races on Earth and dominate the world".

"But it's impossible for one race to dominate the world"Shirley notted.

"Notice that Chinese are really close to this"Saltarski said.

"Oh, right".

"But continuing. Hitler ordered, against the Versailles Treaty, to expand the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine, supplying them with newest types of tanks, riffles, fighters and battleships. He also re-militarized Rhineland. Also he was the main organizer of the Crystal Night".

"What is 'Crystal Night'?"Yoshika questioned.

"How to put this? Nazis were really hostile to ethnical minorities, especially to Jews. He ordered the liquidation of every Jew shop in Germany. Mainly by destroying the stores windows, that's why it was called the Crystal Night"Saltarski explained"Also, in Spain, another civil war broke out in 1936 between the Republicans and the Nationalists. This was an ideal opportunity for Soviet Union and Germany to test their new weapons, because the supported different sides of war".

"And what was the result?"Eila asked.

"Let's say that Soviets needed to improve their weapons after the Francisco Franco forces won the war"Saltarski replied according to truth"But coming back to Germany. In 1938, Hitler ordered a referendum in Austria".

"For what purpose?"Shirley asked.

"He wanted to know how many Austrians want to be a part of Germany".

Witches widened their eyes.

"And how many wanted this?"Lynette asked.

"99,7% of Austrian and 99% of Germans said 'yes'".

Witches widened their eyes even more.

"They just let Germany to annex them?!"Sakamoto yelled.

The librarian again whispered 'SHHHHHH' to silence her.

"Yes, they did"Saltarski continued"And you know how was the Austria called when Germans made Anschluss?"Witches shook their heads"Ostmark".

Witches had surprised expression after hearing this.

"He, he, I knew that you react like that. But coming back. Germans wanted one more thing: the Czech part of Sudety Mountains".

"Why they needed those mountains?"Yoshika asked.

"They were mainly inhabited by Germans. That's why on September 28, 1938 the Munich conference was convened and the Munich Agreement was signed, sealing the fate of Czechoslovakia as it was divided between Poland and Germany".

"You also took something from them?"Minna asked.

"Yes. Germans took Czech Sudety when Poland took Zaolzie, what was received as the act of Polish-German Alliance. It was true that we made a non-aggression pact with Germany and Soviet Union, but we hasn't been allied with them. And in that way, on March 15, 1939, Germans annexed the rest of Czech part of Czechoslovakia, creating the Protectorate of the Czech Republic and Moravia and independent Slovakia ruled by priest Josef Tito. Also, Hungary took Transcarpathian Rus from Slovakia and some southern parts of the country".

"Wow. To many map changes"Eila said.

"I agree with you"Saltarski notted"Back. In Asia, it was the same. Before WW1, there was a revolution in the Empire of China. The outcome was the proclamation of the Republic of China and the overthrow of the Qing dynasty. Later, it led to a full scale civil war between the Chinese communists and the Chinese Kuomintang party. The war leased from 1927 to 1937".

"And who won?"Perrine asked.

"War was not over yet. It was stopped because of the Second Japanese Invasion of China"he explained.

"Second invasion?"Yoshika questioned.

"Yes. The first started on September 18, 1931 when Japan entered Manchuria from Korea. Next, Japanese created the puppet state of Empire of Manchukuo. The country was led by Puyi, last emperor of Qing dynasty".

"Oh. And the second invasion?"Perrine asked.

"It started after the Marco Polo Bridge Accident. Japanese forces took a railway switch what provoked Chinese to attack, which in turn gave Japan an excuse to enter Beijing and Eastern part of China"he then showed them a photo of Japanese soldiers marching on the streets of Beijing. Mio and Yoshika immediately recognized the Fusoan uniforms.

"And everything because of stupid railway switch"Mio said.

"I also think that it was a stupid reason to invade. But I can't judge the history. But it was not enough for Japanese. And this what they did, can be hard for you two"he pointed and Mio and Yoshika. Saltarski looked at Riley, took a deep breath and said"After Japanese forces entered the Nanking, contemporary capital of China, the Japanese gathered together around 300,000 inhabitants of the city and…"he then made a gun from his fingers and pretended that he fires.

Witches then understood what Japanese did to Chinese civilians.

"They just shoot them? All?"shocked Lynette asked.

Saltarski nodded. Barkhorn then hit the table with her fist.

"Shooting civilians is not what real soldiers should do! Only cowards are able to do this!"she exclaimed.

"I agree with you. For me, killing civilians is clear sign of cowardice"Saltarski added.

Right then, everyone looked at Mio and Yoshika.

"I…I can't believe that this world Fuso was able to do this"Mio whispered.

"As Adrian said yesterday: It's our sad reality"Saltarski said quoting his subordinate."Coming back to Europe. Germany took Klaipeda. Hitler then turned to us, Poles, with one more request. He wanted to incarnate the Free City of Gdańsk".

"Why he needed the city?"Minna asked.

"It was, like Sudety, mostly inhabited by Germans. Hitler also wanted to made a land connection to Eastern Prussia and Königsberg".

"You mean Kaiserberg?"Barkhorn asked.

"No. Wait. So in your world…"Saltarski guessed.

"So it's seems like it's the same city"Barkhorn ended.

Saltarski nodded and continued:

"When Polish government rejected, Hitler turned to someone else for help. Someone, who only had to be and temporary friend".

"Who it was?"Sanya asked.

"Hitler turned to Joseph Stalin, the dictator of USSR. Together they signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, that was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939 in the presence of Stalin himself".

"And about what was this pact?"Barkhorn questioned.

"About the division of Poland between Germany and Russia".

Witches dropped their jaws.

"They wanted to divide you?"Shirley asked.

"Yes. That's why, Germans made a Gliwice Provocation. It had to gave 'the ultimate of Polish war provocation".

"And how it ended?"Perrine asked.

"I said shortly: Germans failed. But I came to this later. Meanwhile, the German battleship SMS _Schleswig-Holstein_ berthed in Gdańsk. And, on September 1, 1939 at 04:45 the battleship fired the first shots on the Polish military base of Westerplatte. This shots, are known as the first shots of World War 2".

Witches then looked at each other. It was the same time and day in their world, when Neuroi invaded Ostmark.

"And what happened during World War 2?"Mio asked, even knowing what could happened then.

"It was the largest conflict in human history. The war that consumed the lives of millions all around the world"Saltarski said"And the most important war ever. But from the beginning. Germans invaded us, what started the September Campaign. For us, we defeated Germans few times, like the Battle of Mokra for example. But it was not enough. Germans reached Warsaw one week after the start of war and on September 8, the Battle of Warsaw started that leased 20 days".

"So you were alone against them?"Minna asked.

"No. On September 3, United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany".

"So you could be calm with winning the war"Eila said.

Saltarski only laughed:

"Nice joke. We were alone. You know why?"Witches shook their heads"Because British and French were just sitting on their asses, when Germans were slaughtering us!"

"Wait, it makes no sense"Shirley said"If France and United Kingdom declared war on Germany, why they did nothing?"

"They though that they can just talk to them. And to make the matter worse, on September 17, the Soviet soldiers crossed the border, conquering Eastern Borderlands".

"You were totally screwed"Erica said.

"Exactly. That's why our government flew to Romania, where they were interned, that means placed in special camps".

"So. You lost war and your government?"Perrine asked.

"No. The new government was set up in Angers, France. But was quickly moved to London after 1940. But I'll come to this. UK and France also tried to cut off the iron ore and oil route passing through Norway and supplies the German industry".

"And what Germany done?"Yoshika asked.

"They invaded Denmark and Norway in 1940. And you know what is the most funny in Norway Campaign?"

Witches shook their heads.

"Denmark surrendered without firing a single bullet".

"They just surrendered?"Barkhorn said.

"Yes. Just when German paratroopers appeared over Copenhagen. And they say that French are cowards. In the meantime, Soviets invaded Finland and started the Winter War".

"And who won?"curious Eila asked.

"Formally, the USSR won, because they taken Karelia, but Finland won strategically and protected it's independence. Soviets also placed communists in power in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which, according to the Stalin's plan, asked for inclusion of Baltic States into USSR. Back in the west, to pierce through Maginot Line, Hitler ordered the Operation: Fall Gelb".

"I knew this operation"Minna said"I took part in it myself. It was the withdraw of Karlsland forces through Netherlands and Belgica".

"So in your world, it was a retreat operation?"Saltarski asked.

Minna nodded.

"Hm. In our world, it was an offensive operation. Germans invaded Luxemburg, Begium and Netherlands and thanks to Blitzkrieg, managed to cut off the British, French and Belgian forces in Dunkirk. This started the Operation: Dynamo".

"I'm worried, how many operation from our war, was in your World War 2"Barkhorn said.

"If you had Operation: Dynamo, then I'm think that almost every. Back. After the successful Dynamo, Germans pushed back the French, and seized Paris, forcing France to capitulate. Hitler found it as a good propaganda, because in few month he made something, that Wilhelm II couldn't do in four years. Next, he met with marshal Philippe Petain, the leader of fascist Vichy France".

"I know Petain. He was commanding the defence of Southern Gallia, after Neuroi took Paris"Perrine notted.

"So your Petain was the good one. Our, was a bastard that sold France to Germany. The Vichy France also controlled the French colonies in Africa. But, part of the French colonies and the Belgian Congo choose to stay with the Allies. Back in London, which is now home for many governments from occupied Europe, Charles De Gaulle creates Free France which continue to fight Nazi Germany. Brazzaville became it's capital".

"It's like Gallia. General De Gaulle also created Free Gallia in London"Perrine said.

"Cool. But this also caused the division of French Army. But now. Soviets on the east, annexed Bessarabia and part of Northern Romania. Germany, Italy and Japan, together creates the Axis Powers. All British dominions and colonies, except of Ireland, entered the war against Axis. First fights behind Europe started, when Italian forces enter the British Somalia from Ethiopia and taken it. Next, Italians entered Egypt from Libya. Meanwhile in Europe, Germans started the massive bombardments of Malta and Britain, what marked the beginning of four month Battle of England".

"In our world, Battle of Brittania leased four years"Lynette notted.

"So you had totally screwed to fight four years of fighting aliens over English Channel".

"We also then been disbanded"Mio said.

Saltarski looked at them confused.

"How is it 'disbanded'?"he asked.

"The rogue Air Chief Marshal, Trevor Maloney, wanted to replace Witches with his robot called 'Warlock'. It was made in secret, with usage of Neuroi technology"Minna explained.

"And what happened then?"Saltarski asked more curious.

"Warlock destroyed the Gallia Hive, making the Neuroi disappear from Gallia. But then, he turned Neuroi himself and sunk _Akagi_ "Barkhorn explained.

"This Japanese carrier?"

"In our world, it's Fusoan. But yes. Next, after we though that we destroyed Warlock, he emerged from water, with _Akagi_ changed into it's part. Fortunately, Miyafuji managed to destroy the core that was in the engine room of he carrier"Shirley said.

"(whistle) Great job, Miyafuji. I have more and more respect to you"Saltarski said, what made the Fusoan Witch blush.

"Th-thank you"she replied shyly.

"But came back to history"Sanya said.

"Of course. As I said, Battle of England leased four months and was big deal for not only British, but also other countries pilots. But the most effective was Polish 303 Squadron which destroyed 108 enemy planes, when the second best squadron had only 48 planes".

Witches were impressed by the abilities of Polish pilots.

"If you had so good pilot's, how'd lost the war?"Barkhorn asked.

"Germans had better equipment"Saltarski replied"Continuing. In the meantime, Mussolini, who ruled Italian fascist party and Italy itself since 1922, seeing the successes of his ally, wanted to do the same, so he invaded Greece. But, much to his surprise, Greeks managed to defend, and even push Italians back into occupied Albania. Also, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary joined the war on the Axis side. Thanks to this, Germans succeed to invade Yugoslavia on October 28, 1941 and Greece, defeating the countries, and creating the Independent State of Croatia".

"And no one was resisting the occupation?"Lucchini asked.

"Resistance was in all of Europe. From France to Poland. Some groups were Allies spies, conducting sabotage or protecting wanted persons and print resistance newspaper. In west, there were more guerilla forces like Polish Home Army or Yugoslavian National Army of the Liberation of Yugoslavia. But on Balkans, the resistance were mainly communist. There were even some attempts to assassinate Hitler, the most know was Operation: Valkirie made by some German officers".

"And what were the results of this attempts?"Lynette said.

"All of them failed"Saltarski shook his head"But it was not enough for Hitler. As I said, this friendship with USSR was not for forever. On June 22, German, Romanian, Hungarian and Italian forces launched Operation: Barbarossa-the largest military operation in history".

"Our Barbarossa was something like that"Erica said"And how it's ended?"

"I'll show you in this way"he said and opened You Tube.

He wrote something in the searcher and clicked the good video. He turned it to Witches and pressed start.

It showed the flat terrain with trenches, with some balls standing in front of it. To make it stranger, the balls was filled with Nazi flag and was wearing Karlsland, as Witches noticed, helmets and were welding the MP40. Soon, one of them spoke:

"Okay guys…We've conquered Europe. Now, it is time to conquer Russia".

Balls started to scream 'Wunderbar', 'Yay' and 'Death to the Slavs!' and lifted their weapons in the air.

"We are the proudest and the purest of Germans. It is time to defeat the mouse that is Russia!"the commanding ball said.

"Russia sucks"other ball said, what made Erica laugh a little.

Other said 'Slavs' or 'Russia the worst'.

"It is time for Operation…Barbosa".

"This will be fun".

"Alright guys! Let's go!"

The balls rushed into snow terrain. Soon, the narrator said:

"A few seconds later".

The camera moved in the same direction ad balls, to show…the same balls changed into a ice cubes. Soon, the smiled USSR came and made a ball form snow, placed it on one of Nazis and laughed.

Saltarski turned out the You Tube.

"What was that?"Perrine asked.

"Countryballs. Such popular balls filled with flags. But it showed, how Germans underestimated the Russian winter. It's true that better equipped Axis pushed on the East, conquering Baltic States, Ukraine and Belarus. They even reached Moscow. To support the Soviets, British, happy that they don't have to fight alone now, entered Iran to make a supply way through Caucasu. In the meantime, to help Italians in Africa, Germany created the Afrika Korps, under command of general Erwin 'The Desert Fox' Rommel to face Bernard Montgomery".

"And this helped Italians?"Barkhorn asked, hearing about Afrika Korps.

"Yes. They managed to fight their way to El Alamain and lose two battles there. But in the USSR, Axis allied with Finland that starts the Continuation War, surrounded Leningrad, former Petersburg, and started the 872 days long siege that ended in 1944. Unfortunately, the siege caused the death of 1 million civilians".

This information made Witches stunned.

"But Soviets retaken advantage. As you saw on the video, the winter came and stopped Axis at the gates of Moscow and were pushed 200 kilometer away. But behind the front lines, it was not so good".

"Why?"Eila asked.

"On occupied terrains, Germans started to massacre the ethnical minorities, homosexuals and people with disabilities placing them in the death camps, were they were forced to labor work. Women, children and men were working by almost full day, without rest. The Jews had the hardest times because of Holocaust".

"What was Holocaust?"Yoshika asked.

"It was the Doom of Jews leasing from 1933 to 1945. Today, the number of victims is over 6 million".

This information made them stunned even more. They didn't knew that someone can be so brutal and kill over 6 million people only because they are minorities.

"You should be happy that Karlsland is not like Nazi Germany"he said and Witches nodded"But now let's get back. In Asia, Japan, together with Thailand, occupied French Indochina, Dutch East Indies, Papua New-Guinea, British Malaya, Hong Kong and Burma, which was the part of British India at the time. To stop their expansion, USA imposed an embargo on oil and steel on them. In response, Japanese made a surprise attack on Hawaii base Pearl Harbor. Massive aerial bombing destroyed much of US fleet".

"Neuroi attacked Pearl Harbor too. This caused the Liberion joining the war"Shirley said.

"As I said. Many events from WW2 are probably the same from what I think. And as Isoroku Yamamoto said after Pearl Harbor: 'I'm afraid, that we just woke up a sleeping giant'. And he was right. Soon, Americans declared war on Japan and bombarded Tokyo what is know as the Dolitel Rally. Next, Japanese invaded American Philippines and America sent it's support to USSR. That's how we get to the year 1942".

"Wow. Not only you had almost the same events during World War 2, but also the same persons"Minna said.

"Exactly. And 1942 was the war turning point. Fearing the second front in Europe, Hitler built the Atlantic Wall-giant chain of fortifications stretching from France to Norway. But much to Axis surprise, Allied completed the Operation: Torch and landed in French Morocco and Algeria. Italian Libya was cough in total surround and Axis were forced to withdrew form Egypt. After Vichy lost control over colonies, Germany invaded it".

"Invaded own ally?"Sanya asked.

"Yes. Next, Allies rushed on Tunisia and conquered it, marking an end of the war in Northern Africa".

"In our world, war in Africa is still going. Although it's 1945"Erica said.

"In the East, when Germans lost under Moscow, they started offensive towards Caucasus and reached Stalingrad, but were pushed back. This win let the Red Army to start counter offensive against Axis. Allies landed in Sicily and mainland Italy, what forced Mussolini government to flee North, when Germans invaded. On June 4, 1944 Allies entered Rome".

"Yay!"Lucchini exclaimed.

Everyone looked at her.

"What? It's good that they threw this bad fascists from Rome"she explained.

"Yeah…Coming back. In 1944, USSR started to advance towards Poland and Balkans ending the siege of Leningrad and entering Finland. On June 6, Allies started Operation: Overlord and landed on the beaches of Normandy. They quickly liberated Paris and whole France, and started an offensive in Ardennes and Siegfried Line. Also, on August 1, 1944 the Warsaw Uprising started. Unfortunately, on October 2, the uprising ended with failure".

"That's a pity"Perrine said.

"Yeah, and Soviets, that were waiting on the second shore of Vistula River, watched as Germans were winning. Meanwhile, Americans under the command of Douglas MacArthur managed to, thanks to the tactics of frog jumping, liberate many islands on the Pacific, including Philippines. In 1945, as you said"Saltarski pointed at Minna"war started to coming to an end. When the Soviets approached Berlin, on April 30, Hitler commits suicide in his bunker. Few days later, the red flag hang over the Reichstag and Polish one over the Brandenburg Gate. Eight days later, Germany surrendered".

"Polish flag over the Gate?"Barkhorn asked.

"Yeah. Polish forces were fighting on both fronts of war. We also been the ones who won Battle of Monte Cassino. But ending. After the capitulation of Germany and Italy, only Japan left. USSR entered via Manchuria and Korea. Americans in the same time landed on Okinawa, the last Japanese bastion. Even Japanese suicide pilots couldn't stop them".

"Did you said 'suicide pilot'?"Sakamoto asked.

"Yes. Kamikaze. They were crashing into ships with planes filled with explosives"he explained"But let's end this. On August 6 and 9, America dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war. The Japanese act of capitulation was signed on September 2, 1945 on board of USS _Missouri_ ".

Eila raised her hand.

"What is atomic bomb?"

Without saying anything, he searched the video and showed to the Witches. They saw a giant cloud 'mushroom'. The title was 'The explosion of atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki'. After seeing this, they was terrified that human hand can make something like that.

"And what happened after the war?"Lynette asked.

"After 6 years of war, the human toll is over 60 million, which 40 millions were civilians. The most were from Soviet Union. Many cities like Warsaw, Belgrade, Berlin and of course Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually stopped to exist. Infrastructure were raised with the ground and millions of prisoners were taken by Allies. Germany was divided between the winners. The ones who survived, had to build everything from the beginning".

This was more worse that Witches could imagine. The fact that humans can lead each other to something like that, was unbelievable.

"And next, president of USA, Franklin D. Roosevelt, prime mister of UK, Winston Churchill and Stalin met in Yalta. There, the Great Three, established the New World Order"Saltarski ended WW2.

"And how this world order was looking?"Minna asked.

He showed them the map of Europe. It was divided in two colors-blue and red.

"Soviet Union expanded it's income on Eastern Europe, placing the communists in power in Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Albania and Bulgaria. Communists were also in Yugoslavia, but they were mainly working with West. And West is France, USA, Britain and others. That's how the Iron Curtain divided the world and the Cold War started".

"Why it's called 'Cold War'?"Eila asked.

"Because it was the time of tensions. At every moment, the war between two new world superpowers, USSR and USA, could blow up. But from the beginning. In 1945, the United Nations was created to replace the League of Nations and keep the world peace. Also, US started the Marshall Plan, which goal was to revive the economy of countries ruined by war. But only on the Western side of Curtain".

"And what about the East?"Perrine asked.

"Soviets had their own plans. In 1949, the Western Allies and Eastern block created democratic Federal Republic of Germany and communist Democratic Republic of Germany. Berlin was divided by the Berlin Wall, making the city under control of two sides. Americans started to spread anti-communist propaganda, and Soviet Union detonated it's first nuclear bomb, showing that not only America can made something like that".

"That surely made the tensions rising"Barkhorn notted.

"And how much. Both powers were fighting for influence in fields of science, industry, space, sports and military. To face USSR and it's allies, USA created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, which consists of Western Block nations. Also, in the same time, the civil war in Greece broke out. Of course, one of sides were communists".

"And how this war was going?"Yoshika asked.

"Communists were supported and armed by USSR and Yugoslavia, while Greece was supported By USA and UK. But due to the political tensions, Yugoslavia stopped to arm rebels, and Greek government won. That made Greece to join NATO. In Asia, there was an ongoing Chinese Civil War, that started after the Japan surrender. Communists won it and Mao Zedong proclaimed the People Republic of China, the one we fighting now, and Kuomintang party retreated to Taiwan".

"So the Kuomintang was not defeated?"Sanya said.

"Not in 100%, but was defeated. Next, in 1950, China invaded neutral Tibet and conquered it".

"I think how our Kingdom of Tibet would react on this information"Erica said.

"I'm sure that not cool. Also in 1950, the Korean War started as forces of communist North Korea crossed the 38th Parallel, which marked the Korean border, and pushed the South Korean forces to city of Busan, creating the so-called Busan Pocket".

"Why it was pocket?"Lynette asked.

"Because South Koreans threw all their forces there. And to end the conflict, president Harry Truman of USA send the UN Peace Keeping forces under US flag and with Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur to help Li Syng Man, the president of South Korea. Thanks to this, UN forces gained the initiative and on November 1950 pushed North Korea all the way to the Chinese border".

"And the war was over"Mio added.

"Oh no. This forced China to enter the war. With Chinese help, forced of Kim Ir Sen broke through and at the beginning of 1951 communists again entered South. After few month, the front was in the same shape as modern Korean border and this stalemate was kept until 1953 when the war was over and Demilitarized Zone was placed on Korean border. Kim Ir Sen found it as good propaganda and told that North defeated South".

"Such persons like him have only propaganda in head, I guess"Minna said.

Saltarski nodded.

"And you know what? The peace treaty never was signed and officially the war was still going, but without fight"he added.

"Hm. Strange war"Shirley summed.

"Very strange. But it was not over of Chinese support. Next, China supported the communist militias in French Indochina, what forced France to leave the region, and resulted in creation of Cambodia, Laos, North and South Vietnam".

"North and South again, huh?"Barkhorn added.

"Yeah. The border was set up at the 17th Parallel. This marked the beginning of the Vietnam War. In 1955, as a response for NATO, USSR created the Warsaw Pact. And this name come only from this that it was created in Warsaw. Main staff was in Moscow. Besides, whole second half of 20th century was the period of decolonization. Former European colonies like India, Pakistan, Algeria or Congo gained independence. Also this led to the Israeli-Arab Wars, but it's other story".

"But every colony gained independence?"Lucchini wanted to know.

"Every single one. Egypt too. And that's why the Suez Crisis started, as the UK, France and Israel started a surprise war against Egypt, to regain the Suez Canal. First, Israel invaded Egypt, next, the European paratroopers had to drop around the canal to secure it".

"And who won?"Yoshika was wondering.

"USA and USSR opposed this attack and ordered a ceasefire. In that way, European dominance in Middle East ended to the benefit of USSR".

"We could guess that USSR had something on mind"Minna said.

"They always had. In 1960, the USSR installed the long-range missiles pointed at Western Europe. In response, USA placed their missiles in Turkey".

"Whoa. That was surely big rise of tensions"Perrien said.

"Yes it was. Meantime, China broke alliance with USSR. In North and South America, United States try to make no place for communism. Unfortunately. They failed and communists until now are in power on Cuba. This led, to Cuban Missile Crisis".

"Sounds scary"Lucchini said.

"Soviets send their soldiers, ships and missiles on the island. The missiles were pointed straight on the USA. That's what I meant with Soviets firing nukes at America".

"Yeah. Now we knew"Minna said"And what happened next?"

"Everyone was preparing for World War 3. Fortunately, after negotiations, US and USSR removed missiles from Cuba and Turkey. That deescalated the situation".

"Good to hear that"Lynette admitted.

"In the meantime, America send half million soldiers to Vietnam and invaded North, what antagonized France and forced it to leave NATO. In the meantime, in 1975, North Vietnam conquered South".

"How North Vietnam defeated over 500, 000 US soldiers?"Shirley asked.

"Guerilla tactics. Vietkong was making ambushes and other such things. In Europe anti-communist protest in Warsaw Pact countries started. One of them was the Prague Spring, which was bloody suppressed by Pact forces. It was in 1968. In 1976, the GDR invaded West Germany, because of one of East German border guard escape, but war was ended after the sign of peace treaty in Stockholm and ended with a white peace".

"Stupid reason to invade"Barkhorn stated.

"This guy killed two East German border guards and was accused for a double murder. And West didn't wanted to spend him".

"No it makes sense"she admitted.

"USSR also supported the communist militias in Africa".

"Why?"Yoshika questioned.

"To expand it's influence of course"Saltarski explained"Also, Soviets send the army to Afghanistan to help communist regime in fight with Mujahideen, the Islamists supported by USA. In 1980, the Iraq invaded Iran, and started the 8 year long Iran-Iraq War, which ended with Iraq military failure. Next, Soviets installed new type of missiles what started the Euromissile crisis, and forced NATO to place their own missiles. In 1985, the USSR is run out of money, and started to shake. In 1989, they withdrew from Afghanistan and stopped founding militias in Africa. This failure, and many anti-communist protests in Warsaw Pact, leads to 1991. The Berlin Wall fell one year earlier, Germany was united and on December 26, 1991, the USSR fell apart and all of SSRs gained independence. This event, marked the end of Cold War".

"And we have the happy ending"Lucchini stated.

"Not exactly. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait"Saltarski extinguished Romagnian Witch joy.

"Why they invaded Kuwait?"Barkhorn questioned.

"Iraq was exhausted by the last war. That's way. In three hours they entered the country capital and whole country was occupied in two days".

"How did they done this so quickly?"Mio asked.

"Kuwait is a small country. But this forced USA and it's allies to intervene. They created Coalition, and invaded Iraq. Even Iraqi Scud missile launchers couldn't stop them. The country surrendered on February 28, 1991 but Saddam Hussein was in power until 2003. Next major conflict took place in Europe and was the bloodiest conflict since WW2".

Witches were stunned.

"It was the Bosnian War that started after the breakup of Yugoslavia. But Yugoslavia was still on the map, until 2003. Also there was two Chechnya Wars between Chechnya and Russia. First from 1994 to 1996, ended with Chechnya victory and second, from 1999 to 2009 ended with Russian victory. Also in 1993, the Czechoslovakia was divided and European Union was formed to unite Europe. But unfortunately, something worse came into the daylight".

"What it was?"Minna asked.

"Terrorism. Everything started on September 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda kidnapped two planes and crashed them into World Trade Center and Pentagon. 2937 people died then".

"How someone can crash plane with reason? It makes no sense!"Perrine explained.

"Not for terrorism. The leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, was hiding for 10 years. Fortunately, he was killed in 2011".

"At least they found him. But 10 years?"Barkhorn said.

"CIA was looking for him all that time. It's good that they did it. In 2003 also the 2nd Gulf War started and Hussein ended his rule. He was executed 3 years later".

"Your world has really big problems"Erica stated.

"You're right. Terrorism, local wars, civil wars, like this in Syria, political crises, catastrophes and natural disasters. But we trying to stop this. Unfortunately, we're not doing well. World War 3 that is going on right now is example".

"Is this all history?"Yoshika asked.

"Well. There were also War in Eastern Ukraine, terrorist attacks in Berlin, Paris and Brussels and the sunk of _Costa Concordia_. But yeah. It's everything. If you want, you can also read about it"he replied with sad voice.

"Okay. Thank you very much"Minna said.

Witches stood up, but Saltarski stopped them:

"Wait. There's one more thing"he said and took another book.

"What is it?"Barkhorn asked.

"It's your names. I noticed it earlier and wanted to show you".

He gave the book to the Witches. It was titled 'Famous Aces of World War 2'. They opened it.

"Gerhard Barkhorn? It is supposed to be me?"Barkhorn said seeing the photo of of one of pilots.

Other Witches also looked to the book. They found Chuck Yeager, Erich Hartmann, Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, Lidia Litvyak or Pierre Clastermann. Wicthes looked at Saltarski.

"Yes"he replied seeing their look"In our world, you all were pilots of Axis and Allies during WW2".

"Wow! This will land on the first page!"someone said form behind the book case.

Everyone turned in this direction. Riley barked and Saltarski's face took an irritated expression.

"Alright. You can show yourself"he said.

From behind the book case, came out a short girls with hairs colored in the same shade of red as Minna and wearing glasses with a little too big frames. In his hands, she held a notebook and a pencil.

"Tekla. I could guess"Saltarski said, crossing his arms.

"Sorry. I was just collecting some info to the article. I just couldn't stop myself from following you"the girl named Tekla replied and turned to Witches"Corporal Tekla Mickiewicz, 7th Airborne Brigade and Military High School Daily Poland main redactor".

"It's nice to meet you"Minna said.

"The same for me. I wanted to ask you some questions to my article to the newest edition. Can I?"

Witches looked at Saltarski.

"Actually, I don't see why not. To meeting with council you have almost 6 hours. But pay attention to words, Mickiewicz. Maybe you have the same surname as one of the greatest Polish poets, but it's not giving you any immunity. So don't ask them any unconventional questions. You understand?"he exclaimed.

"I keep you by word"Tekla replied and left the library with Witches.

When they were gone, Saltarski looked at Riley. The dog was waving her tail and showing her tongue happily. Saltarski kneeling next to her said:

"So the rest of the day belong to us. Come. We go for a little walk".

As they wanted to walk out the the library, librarian stopped them:

"Never enter here with this dog again. I don't want any animals in my library".

"Of course, Mrs. Głowacki"the boy said and left the library with Riley.

As they left the library, librarian looked under the desk.

"You can exit"she said.

From under the desk exited…a Welsh Corgi. Głowacki stroke the head of the dog and said:

"Easy. They will not find that you're here".

20:00

General Council room

Minna was standing in the middle of the room. As she looked around, she noticed that it's quite similar to the room where she was submitting reports to Maloney, Churchill and generals in Britannia. Even the table looked the similar.

She looked at generals. General Sobczak was sitting in the middle, what probably marked his leadership in the Council. In from of him was a plate with his name and country: 'Gen. Janusz Sobczak, Poland'.

General Tripomova was sitting on his left side with plate saying. Next to her was a boy with long, as for boy, black hair hanging his arms and with green eyes. He was dressed in Slovakian general uniform and his plate was saying 'Gen. Matus Kenesky, Slovakia'.

General Nagy was on Sobczak right side. Next to him was sitting a girl with short brown hair and blue eyes. She wear the Italian general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen Anastasia Tocchelli, Italy'.

On the same side as Tripomova and Kenesky, was sitting a tall boy with short brown hair and eyes, wearing German general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. Wilhelm Strauss, Germany'.

Next to Strauss, was sitting another boy with gray hair and eyes, dressed in French general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. Antoin Velge, France'.

Penultimate on the left was a girl with long ginger hair and green eyes and was dressed in British general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. Abigail Williams'.

The last on the left was a girl with long blonde hair and black-brown eyes. She was wearing the Japanese general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. Ayako Tanagowi, Japan'.

Next to Tocchelli was sitting a boy with short gold hair and dark green eyes. He was dressed in Russian general uniform. Th plate was saying 'Gen. Dmitrij Vasiliyev, Russia'.

Another boy had a ginger-blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He wore the American general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. John Davis, United States'.

Next to Davis was sitting a tall girl with short gold hair and dark brown eyes dressed in the Finnish general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. Elsa Nutiliaren, Finland'.

Penultimate on the right was a short boy with bright black hair and gray eyes. He was wearing the Belorussian general uniform. His plate was saying 'Gen. Nikita Anikiej, Belarus'.

An the last of generals was also a boy with long brown hair and light green eyes. He dressed the Swiss general uniform. The plate was saying 'Gen. Bernd Bianchi, Switzerland'.

On the wall behind them were their nations emblems.

Minna was telling them the situation of their world. Some generals were surprised after hearing how Witches turned the tide of war against Neuroi. Some others were just shook their heads with respect.

"…and that's why we have to get back to our world as soon as possible"she ended.

Generals looked at each other.

"It could be hard"Sobczak said.

"Why?"Minna looked at him.

"Technology is not so advanced. It's true that for you the night vision, laser guided missiles or atomic bomb can be something super advanced. But for us, it's just normal weaponry. And interdimensional travel is something that overtake us for many years"Davis said,

"I understand it, general Davis"Minna said and hung her head.

"But we promise. We'll try to do everything we can to send you back"Ayako said.

"Until then, you are stuck in our world and are now part of war that you never should be in"Nikita added.

Minna nodded. He was right. Until they find way to send them back, they had to stay there. At least, there were someone who wanted to help them.

"Davis"Vasiliyev said"Didn't the US tried something called Project Philadelphia?"

Everyone looked at him.

"Listen. I was reading about the Project Philadelphia. It was a failure. And I'm sure that we shouldn't try it"Velge stated.

"Yeah, I agree with Antoin"Abigail said.

"So what do we gonna do?"Minna asked and again looked at the Council members.

"Well. Before you came, we were talking about something. And we came up with proposition for you"Anastasia said.

Minna was confused.

"What kind of proposition?"she asked.

"Come closer"Strauss said.

Minna came up to them. As she did this, he whispered the proposition to her. When she heard that, she withdrew.

"What about that?"Elsa asked.

Minna looked at the generals. She nodded.

"I think you're right. At least, we don't have many options"she said.

"I hope that you'll be feel good until we find out how to send you back"Bela said.

General Kenesky added:

"And we'll also try to make the stay here enough good for you".

"Thank you. But I don't think that my Witches will accept this".

"If we don't see, we'll never find out"Bianchi said.

Only general Nagy didn't said anything.

"And what do you think about it, Enre?"Sobczak asked.

"I was the only one opposite to this. I still think that this is a bad idea. They're already exhausted by war in their world"Nagy replied.

"Eh. The choice is yours, commander Minna"Abigail said.

Minna though about it. She had could say yes, and have this done. But she was afraid about this what others will say. Or she could reject.

She made her decision.

20:23

In front of General Council room

Witches together with Saltarski, Hisako, Adrian, Natalia and Janos were waiting next to the GC room.

"What are they talking about so long?"Shirley said with irritation.

"Generals always like to have a long talks. You don't change this"Janos replied doing something in his thin book.

"What are you doing in this book, by the way?"Erica asked.

In addition to answering her, he turned the book to them. On the page, there was a picture of BTR-80 surrounded by some ruins and flames. The whole picture looked so realistic, that it could be said that is a photo, not drawn picture.

"Wow"Yoshika said.

"It's the most realistic picture I ever saw"Lynette added.

"I had the best plasticity grades in elementary school for a good reason. I was the best draftsman in whole class"he explained.

"Hard to believe that so good drawing talent is wasted in army"Hisako said.

"It's just my hobby. Army was my dreamed job"Janos added.

Right then, the General Council room doors opened and Minna appeared in them. Witches quickly surrounded her.

"And what?"Lucchini asked.

"It seams like we have to stay here for some time until they find out how to send us back home"she replied.

"So we have to sit here and just wait?"Barkhorn questioned.

"No. They also made a proposal to us"Minna added.

"What kind of proposal?"Perrine asked.

Everyone in tension was waiting for the proposal of the General Council. After a few seconds, Minna finally said:

"We have to become new Military High Schools students".

This information made all Witches, including Saltarski, Hisako, Adrian, Natalia and Janos, to wide their eyes.

XXX

 **And there's chapter 4. Sorry for so long waiting, but it was one of those chapters that I had to change many things.**

Yoshika: Actually, you were changing mainly the WW1 and 2 telling.

 **Yeah. But I finally done it. And if anyone ask. The West-East German war was based on 'Br** **ü** **der gegen Br** **ü** **der' campaign of 'Wargame: European Escalation'.  
**

Janos: Which actually is my favorite part of series!

 **Mine too. Because of heavy tanks combat. Okay, let's end this gaming talk.** **And. I don't promise that all chapters will be that long.**

Eila: (Walks into the room and staring at me) 83888!

 **What is it?**

Eila: I'll kill you! (Starting to charge at me)

 **(Evading her) For what?!**

Eila: Because you want to put Sanya in the middle of war!

 **Easy! Nothing will happen to her!**

Janos: I have an advice. Better run.

 **(Nodding head)** **Thanks for advice! See in the next chapters! (Runs out, Eila behind)**

Janos: Yo!

Yoshika: See ya!


	5. Chapter 5

**As you see I managed to escape from Eila, but she's still somewhere there. To the topic. This is the last chapter before the Operation: America Libre. Witches will now be welcomed in their new homes as the new students of the 4th School Fleet of Coalition. It's gonna be interesting.**

Lucchini: NO! NO! NO! (sound of breaking porcelain)

Shirley: (runs into the room and closing the doors) Damn. She's more angry than I though.

 **What is happening?**

Shirley: She don't want to go to school.

 **Did you said that if she do not, you will kick her in the tibia?**

Shirley: No! (looks at me with anger)

 **Easy, I wasn't been serious! (lifting hands in defence gesture)**

Shirley: Better answer the review, and I'll try to convince her. (opens the door and walking out)

 **Okay.**

 ** _Shwarz Eins_ : **Thanks that you like the story. And thank you for wishing me best of luck with it.

 **When this is done, let's start.**

Chapter 5

,,First day at school"

June 12, 2022

20:11

In front of General Council room

"We have to become the new Military High Schools students"

This information made all Witches, including Saltarski, Hisako, Adrian, Natalia and Janos, to wide their eyes.

"WHAT?!"everyone shouted.

"This what I said. From tomorrow, we start a first day at schools"Minna explained"We all get to schools belonging to this world counterparts of our countries. And we get on the school years appropriate to our age".

"That means that we will be disconnected?"Lucchini asked, cuddling into Shirley.

"I don't want to leave Sanya!"Eila exclaimed.

Minna looked at Witches and sighed.

"We'll not be disconnected forever. At least, some of us will get to the same schools"she said looking and other Karlsland and Fusoan Witches"Besides, we still can contact or meet with each other".

"Always something"Erica stated.

"I already agreed with this. Now, I just need your opinion"Minna said calmly.

Everyone looked at each other. Actually, they had no other choice.

"From what I see, we have no other options. I agree with this too"Mio said.

"If Major is in it, then I'm too"Perrine added.

"Me too"Yoshika said.

Soon, other Witches started to agree with generals proposal. Minna again looked at them, and said:

"Thanks. I'll tell it to generals that you're agreed with this too"

"Wait, before you'll go. Really everyone were agreed with this?"Barkhorn asked.

"No. General Nagy was the only one opposite to this".

She then again entered the General Council room. When the doors closed, Saltarski approached the Witches.

"What can I say? Welcome to the 4th School Fleet!"he exclaimed.

"Thanks. But I'm surprised that general Nagy was opposite to this"Shirley said.

"Maybe he just didn't wanted you to fight in this war, because you're exhausted by your own. He always cares for everyone"Janos explained"What does not mean that other generals not".

"So the others just want us to fight in this war?"Barkhorn asked suspiciously.

"No, I think no. It's just a duty of being the MHS student. Besides, you'll be having everything there: food, place to sleep and roof over the head"Natalia said.

Then, Minna again exited the Council room.

"Everything is established. Now, let's go to prepare for tomorrow"Minna said and everyone walked to their rooms.

June 13, 2022

07:11

USS _James Madison_ , Main Deck

Michael was standing next to the Main Deck runway. She got news from general Davis that he has to take care of Shirley, as she land on the ship. It was a sunny day, but the clouds in South foretold that this will not be lasting for long. With him was a boy with short brown hair and green eyes.

"When do she have to appear, Michael?"the boy asked.

"Soon, Will, really soon"Michael simply replied.

When they were waiting, two mechanics came up to them.

"Captain Johnson, lieutenant Williams you wanted to see us?"one of the asked.

"Yes"Michael replied"We want you to take care of our new friend equipment".

"From what I heard, the new one is supposed to be a girl?"the other one said.

"Yes, how'd you know?"Will asked.

"Rumors are quick".

As they were talking, they saw a little dot in the sky.

"I'm guessing that this is she"the first mechanic said.

"Yes, it's Shirley. Okay, prepare for a little surprise"Michael replied.

Mechanics didn't knew what he was on his mind. But all their questions disappeared when they saw…a girls dressed in a red jacket, white shirt, with ginger hair and blue eyes and not wearing pants, with strange devices on her legs, resembling P-51, and welding a BAR riffle. To make it stranger, she had white rabbit ears and tail. And, what was surprising too, really similar to lieutenant Le Fem.

Michael came up to her and said:

"Welcome on USS _James Madison_ , captain Yeager".

"Thanks for welcoming"Shirley replied exiting her Strikers and deactivating her familiar.

Mechanics still couldn't say anything.

"I ordered to prepare special storage for your equipment. Timmy and Jack will take it. Right?"Michael then turned to the mechanics.

Timmy, plucked from surprise, said:

"O-Of course, um…miss…"he stopped realizing that he don't knew the girl's name.

"Charlotte E. Yeager. But just call me Shirley"she introduced herself.

"Sure, Shirley. We'll take care of your…"Jake stopped, didn't knowing the name of two devices.

"Striker Units"Shirley said.

"We take them to the storage"Timmy said.

Together with Jake they came up to Strikers and took them. Before they left, Shirley also gave them her BAR riffle. After this, she stayed alone with Michael.

"So…What to do now?"she asked.

"First, I want to introduce someone to you"Michael said.

Will stood on guard and saluted.

"Lieutenant Will Williams, 66th Marines Brigade"Will introduced himself, and after seeing Shirley's face, he added"I know that this is strange combination of name, but it works".

He then came up to Michael and...kissed him in lips. Shirley immediately blushed.

"I have now something to do. See ya later, Mich"Will said and walked away.

Michael then turned to still red Shirley.

"Yeah. I forgot to mention. I'm gay. Those it disturb you?"he asked.

Shirley quickly shook her head.

"No. I...I can only wish you best of luck in the future"she replied.

Michael then took a few paper cards and gave to Shirley. She looked at them and read: 'The US Army High School Application Form'. Next, he gave a pencil to her.

"What do I have to do with this?"Shirley asked, quickly looking at every card.

"You have to fill it. You have to choose the part of armed forces you want to join, the part of this armed forces part and you need to fill some other fields in it"the boy explained to her.

"I think it can take a while".

"Maybe. But when you end, go to your new room, where your school uniform is. The number is 1928".

And then, Shirley laughed.

"Did I said something wrong?"Michael asked, curious what could make her so amused.

"What coincidence. 1928 is the year I was born"Shirley explained.

"Wait, so how…"Michael then palmed his face"Oh, right. Saltarski told me about that in your world you have 1945. Okay. So, see you when you end with the form. After this, I'll take you for a trip on the ship"he said and walked away.

In the meantime, Shirley started to fill the form.

07:14

FGS _Wilhelm II_ , Main Deck

Actually, Anton had more important things to do that waiting for new students in form of Witches. But he was always making the General Strauss orders and that's why he was called 'The General Pupil'. But it didn't offended him. At least, last preparations before America Libre can wait one day more.

Next to him, was standing a short boy with a little more darker brown hair than Anton had and blue eyes. He was dressed in the same gray gala uniform as Anton, but with Lieutenant insignias. In his hands, he had three 'Bundeswehr High School Application Forms'.

"Why do you even wanted me to take this application forms?"the short boy asked.

"I told you, bro. It's for three new students in our school"Anton answered.

"The 'Witches' that you were talking to two days ago?"

"The same ones, Karl. But wait, how'd you know?"

Karl's face immediately went red.

"Hehehe. I…overheard your talk with general Strauss about it"Karl said scratching back of his head.

"Eh, what do I have to do with you?"Anton asked himself.

Right then, they heard a sound of propellers and soon, they saw Witches landing on the ship. Karl's jaw almost dropped after seeing girls without pants, with animal ears and tails, with strange things on their legs, hanging old WW2 German weapons and wearing old WW2 German uniforms.

Anton came up to girls as they exited the devices and their animal ears and tails disappeared.

"Commander Minna, captain Barkhorn, lieutenant Hartmann, welcome aboard of FGS _Wilhelm II_!"he said as he shook hands with the Witches.

"Thank you for welcome"Minna answered. Soon, he noticed still surprised Karl"And who is he?"

Anton cam up to Karl and put his hands on his shoulders.

"This is my younger brother Karl. Introduce yourself"Anton explained.

"L-L-L-Lieutenant K-K-Karl Sh-Shrauf, Bundeswehr High School 11th Mechanized Battalion"Karl introduced himself, still didn't knowing that he has to be surprised, or frighted by those girls.

"Is he alright?"Barkhorn asked looking at shaking Karl.

"He's probably just in little shock after seeing you"Anton said and turned to his brother"Easy, they are our new students".

Karl turned his face to Anton.

"I though that Witches are flying on brooms and are using magic wands"Karl whispered.

"We used brooms earlier, but now, we're using the Striker Units, so this things"Minna explained pointing at the strange devices.

"And we carry weapons to fight Neuroi"Erica added.

"Neuroi?"Karl questioned after hearing the term.

"It's aliens that we fighting in our world"Barkhorn explained.

At this moment, Karl managed to said only one thing:

"Aliens?"

Next, he fainted. Witches looked at this with a little fear.

"Is he okay?"Erica asked.

"It's not the first time. I'll better take him to his room"Anton replied taking Karl in 'bride style'. He took three application forms and gave them to the Witches"Fill this forms, next I'll show the ship to you and then you go to rooms 312 and 222"next he gave them three pencils.

Anton went to the Karl's room and Witches started to fill the forms.

07:20

FS _Loire_ , Main Deck

Crystal and Pierre were sitting on one of the benches next to the runway. Perrine should appear in next few minutes. In the meantime, Pierre was looking at Crystal with curiosity.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"Crystal asked, a little irritated by this"I hope you don't think something lewd".

Pierre stopped to thinking.

"Sorry. It's just…Eh, it's two days since we were talking to the Witches, and I still can't believe that some of them are doubles of you, Helena, Natalia and Tieri"the Swiss boy explained.

Crystal only sighed and said:

"Trust me, I was surprised too, when Saltarski told me about it by phone. At the beginning, I was thinking that he was joking. But when I saw Shirley, I then knew that even in other dimensions something like this happens".

"I think you're right".

Then, they noticed Perrine exiting her Striker. They stood up and came up to her.

"Bienvenue à FS _Loire_ , Perrine"Crystal said.

"Thank you. But…"Perrine looked at Crystal"It's a little strange. You look like Yeager and seeing you speaking Gallian…It's really strange".

"I believe you. But let's now get to the formal things"Pierre said as she gave application form and pencil to Perrine.

Meanwhile, Crystal was looking at the Gallian Witch Striker.

"Arsenal VG 33, em I right?"she asked.

"Yes"Perrine replied.

"Well. It's a little shame that France started making good planes after WW2. But now. Fill this form, and you can go to take uniform from your new room. It's room 236"Crystal explained and walked away.

Pierre, on the other hand, stayed with Perrine.

"Can you help me with it?"she asked him.

"Why not? I have nothing interesting to do anyway. Besides, I also have to take you for a little trip"Pierre replied.

Next, he started to helping Perrine with the application form.

07:22

RFS _General_ _Georgy Zhukov_ , Main Deck

With Linchov and Maleroshka, there was two other persons. First of them was a boy with short brown hair and green eyes. The second one was a girl with long brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"So. According to what you saying, this new girl is a Witch from different world, where they are fighting aliens, during World War 2, did I understand this good?"the boy asked.

"Yes, you did, Artem"Linchov replied.

"So this is becoming more and more interesting"the girl said.

"I agree with you, Daria"Maleroshka added.

Soon, they saw Sanya landing on the main runway. When they saw her Fliegerhammer, they almost overturned from shock that such little girls is able to carry so big weapon. They waited until she exit her Striker and hangs down her weapon and came up to her.

"I'm glad to welcome you aboard of Russian Federation Ship _General Georgy Zhukov_ "Linchov said as he stood in front oh her.

"Thank you for greeting. And I'm sure that General Zhukov would be proud after hearing that this ship is named after him"Sanya replied.

"Personal question"Maleroshka interjected"If in your world is 1945, you know General Zhukov?"

"Not personally. But I served under his orders before I was assigned to 501st"she answered.

Right then, she noticed the two other persons.

"And who are they?"she asked Linchov.

"Let me introduce myself"Artem said and came closer"Lieutenant Artem Drovin, Russian Federation Armed Forces 42nd Motorized Guards Regiment".

"Junior Lieutenant Daria Drovin, Russian Federation Armed Forces 4th Guards Riffle Division"Daria introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant Aleksandra Vladimirova Litvyak, but you can call me Sanya if you like"Sanya introduced herself to Artem and Daria.

"Girl, how'd you able to carry this thing? I'm surprised that you even have something like that in 1945"Artem stated.

"I'm a Witch. Thanks to this, I can easily handle this Fliegerhammer"she explained. She looked at Linchov"I wonder, why you have yellow eyes? I've never seen such before".

After these words, he reached his eye with finger and took something looking like a plastic lens. Now, one of his eyes was green.

"Contact lenses. I have some eyesight problems"he explained and put the lens back on his eye.

Meanwhile, Maleroshka gave a Russian application form and pen to her.

"This is the application form you need to fill if you want to get into the school"he explained"After that, Daria will show you where everything is on ship and next you make yourself comfortable at your new room. The number is 6423".

"I can help you if you want"Daria proposed.

"Thank you, but I think I can handle this by myself"Sanya said and opened the application form.

"Okay"Daria said.

Sanya then started to fill the form.

07:28

 _Mannerheim_ , Main Deck

As the time was passing, Ellen and Eevi were talking about the current events and this what's happening in the other parts of the world.

"You heard that lately Americans pushed Chinese another few kilometers away in Alaska?"Eevi asked.

"Yes, I heard about it. But I'm not sure if this is something important. At least, Chinese still control a large portion of Alaska Peninsula"Ellen noticed.

"Yeah. Sad true"Eevi stated.

Then they heard as something hit the runway. They turned their heads to see Eila stopping in front of them and exiting her Strikers and standing in front of them.

"Good that you're finally here. Welcome aboard of _Mannerheim_ , the pride of Merivoimat!"Eevi exclaimed.

"Thanks. But why this ship is your pride?"Eila replied.

"Our navy mainly consists of mine warfare ships or torpedo boats. We're happy that Americans sold this carrier to us"Ellen explained.

"Hm. That explains this thing"Eila stated. Then, she looked again at Ellen's white hair and red eyes"Listen…Why you have so pale skin, white hair and red eyes?"

Ellen nodded her head and answered:

"You know. That's the price of albinism. You should know that".

"Albinism?"Eila questioned.

"Yeah. It's a kind of genetic disease. The persons sick on albinism had pale skin and white hair. The red eyes is something that happens really rarely"Eevi explained.

"Why red eyes are rare?"

"Because usually, the people with albinism have enough pigment in eyes to have normal color. I was not so lucky. The red color coming from the blood vessels in eyes"Ellen answered. Then she asked"Wait, why do you asking?"

"Well. In my world, girls with red eyes and white hair is nothing strange. Especially when girl is a Witch"Eila explained.

"Hm. Good to know"Eevi stated. Next, she gave the application form to Eila"There you have the application form. When you end filling it, meet us later. We now have our affairs to do".

Eevi then stood behind Ellen and folded her hands around her neck.

"You know what I mean, right?"Eevi asked.

Next, she gently bite Ellen's ear. Eila immediately blushed after seeing this. Though she saw this several times.

"Eevi, I told you that we'll do it later. At night"Ellen said.

"Is…something…more happening between you both?"Eila asked hesitantly.

"Actually, yes. Ellen is my girlfriend"Eevi said as big smile appeared on her face.

"Oh…"Eila whispered"So…I'm wishing best of luck to your relationship".

"Thank you. After you fill the form, the trip is waiting on you and after that, go to room 593, which is your new room"Eevi said.

She took her hands off the Ellen's neck and took her hand and walked away. Eila meantime started filling the form, still thinking about those two.

07:32

HMS _London_ , Main Deck

James was accompanied by short boy with black hair and brown eyes. As him, the boy was dressed in Royal Marines uniform. They both were drinking morning tea.

"I must say, that you are still making the best tea in our family, Chris"James said taking another sip.

"Thanks. The one that you were making is good too, brother"Chris answered"By the way, when this Witch will came here?"

As per his words, the heard the propellers sound.

"You say, you have"James stated as he put the cup of tea down.

Lynette landed on the runway, and stood in front of James and Chris. As the shorter boy saw her, he stopped. He felt that something is happening inside of him and noticed that his heart started to accelerate. He unclipped some buttons in upper part of his uniform and came up to James and Lynette.

As he approached them, James was ending to greet her.

"…HMS _London_ , Miss Bishop"James ended.

"It's nice to see you, Mr. Hunter"Lynette said.

"No, no. Mr. Hunter is my father. Call me James"he replied and chuckled.

Lynette then noticed Chris approaching them.

"And who are you?"Lynette asked.

"Um…"Chris murmured"Corporal Christopher Hunter, Royal Navy 25th Royal Marines Regiment. But you can call me Chris".

"Nice to meet you, Chris. I'm Sergeant Lynette Bishop of 501st Joint Fighter Wing. But you can call me Lynn"Lynette introduced herself to Chris.

"Well then. It's also nice for me, Lynn".

James watched this with little smirk on his face, until he finally said:

"Hey, Chris. Maybe give her the application form?"

"Oh, right"Chris said and reached to his pocket.

He then took the application form from it and gave it to Lynette. While he was doing it, she also pulled her hand for the form. Shortly after, they both held the form. The little trace of red appeared on their faces, but not enough big to be noticed. They also felt some kind of warm inside of them.

After a few seconds of standing like that, Chris let the form go and next gave a pen to her.

"And when you fill it, Chris will show the ship to you. You're okay with that?"the last one was to Chris.

The boy quickly looked at James and again on Lynette.

"Of course I'm okay with that. I like to help the other with something"he said and walked up to Lynn.

"Well then. I'm leaving you in good hands"James said and walked away.

Chris came up to Britannian Witch.

"And after the trip, I have to lead you to your room, number is 2333"Chris said as he stood next to her.

"Okay, thank you"she replied and started to filling the form.

They didn't noticed that they have red cheeks again.

07:39

 _La Spezia_ , Main Deck

The young, fourteen year old boy with blonde hair and navy blue eyes were looking around the area near runway. He was looking under the benches, on the benches, on the runway itself. But he couldn't find this one current person.

After the few minutes, he stood and asked himself:

"Where the hell is Lina?"

Suddenly, something hit his head. He quickly started to massage the place where the thing hit.

"Hey, who…?"he wanted to say, but when he looked at that thing, he stopped talking.

That thing was…a black-white trainer. And he knew only one person who wear trainers instead of slippers.

"I could guess"he said and looked up.

Lina was sleeping on the tree branch right over him. Under her head, she had a pillow. Her left leg was hung freely without one of her trainers.

The boy now had to wake her up. He looked around and found a small stone. He took it and three into Lina. The stone hit her hip and this, fortunately, woke her up. She raised her head and looked around. Next, she looked down and saw the boy.

"Why are you waking me up, Mario?!"she said with reproach"I had so cool dream"She then started to squeezing her hands.

"Sorry. I was in your room, but I noticed that you're not there. So I started to looking for you"Mario explained"I though that I know all of your sleep hideouts".

She then jumped from the branch, and next she smoothly landed right next to him.

"I made this one yesterday. I wanted to watch stars for a little and go to my room, but I fell asleep before I noticed it"she explained as she put the trainer back on her feet.

"This…explains some things"next, he reached his pocket"I have this application form you wanted, but why?"

"The answer is heading here now".

Right then, they saw Lucchini landing on the runway. When Mario saw her, he widened his eyes, seeing the twin similarity between the Witch and Tieri.

When Lucchini exited her Striker, Mario and Lina came up to her.

"Well, hello aboard _La Spezia_! Cool to see you again, Lina 2!"Tieri said.

"The same here, Francesca 2"Lucchini replied.

Both girls laughed loudly. In the meantime, Mario was still stunned after seeing the Romagnan Witch. When they stopped laughing, Lina stood next to Mario.

"This is Private Mario Attasioni. My dear friend and really nice person"Lina introduced Mario to Lucchini.

"H-Hi"he stammered.

Lina again stood with Lucchini.

"Surprised by her look?"she asked"That why I only told you that she's from another world, but I wanted to keep how she looks in secret".

Suddenly, Mario started to laugh as loudly, as Lina and Lucchini were laughing few seconds earlier. Girls looked at each other.

"What are you laughing at?"Lucchini asked.

"Nothing"Mario answered still laughing"I just though how some girls in school will react. They already have enough of Lina's habit of touching every girl breasts. If they see two Lina's, they'll probably gone crazy".

"Oooh, yeah. You can be right"Lina said and took the application form from Mario"Before you'll be having all right to going to this school, you have to fill this form".

"AAAA! I don't want to fill anything!"Lucchini exclaimed.

"I didn't wanted it too. But I had no other choice"Lina explained"After you fill it, we'll go for a trip on the ship, and you can go to our room".

"Our room?"Lucchini asked with curiosity.

Lina only nodded and said:

"Yup. I talked to Ana, and she took care of that you could sleep in my room. Fortunately, it's a double room. Number is 111".

"Okay"Lucchini said and, reluctantly, started to fill the form.

07:42

JDS _Isoroku Yamamoto_ , Main Deck

Kozue and Rin after preparing a few things, were waiting for Sakamoto and Yoshika. Kozue just ended to tie her ponytail.

"You really had to pull me out of bed so early, Rinie?"she asked as she ended.

"I know you like to have a good sleep, but remember that we have the Witches to greet"Rin answered.

Kozue looked at her.

"When I asked you yesterday that you'll do it by yourself, you said that I can be calm".

Rin just stroke back of her head.

"Yeah…But I never done this before, and I wanted to have someone to help me".

Kozue just palmed her face.

Right then, they heard the buzzing sound. When they looked up, they saw the two Witches. Soon, they landed on the runway and the Japanese girls came up to them. Kozue waited until they exit their Striker Units and said:

"I'm glad to greet you on JDS _Isoroku Yamamoto_!"

"We're happy to be here"Sakamoto replied and looked around"I'm sure that Admiral Yamamoto would be surprised that this ship have his name".

"I'm sure that yes"Kozue chuckled. Then, she noticed the thing on Sakamoto's backs"Is this is a sword?"

Sakamoto looked at her backs and pulled out the sword.

"Yes. It's called Rappumaru. It took me some time to create it"Sakamoto explained.

"Sakamoto-san killed many Neuroi with it"Yoshika added.

"Ca…Can I hold it for a little?"Kozue asked unsurelly.

The Fusoan Witches looked at each other. Next, Sakamoto looked Rappunaru and at Kozue again.

"Well…Okay. But don't brake it"she warned.

Kozue took the sword and felt a little shiver coming through her back. She looked at sword and stroked the blade.

"Beautiful…Just…Beautiful…"she said in awe.

Witches were looking at it with a strange look.

"Forgive her. Kozue is just fan of samurais. Besides, her family in straight line is derived from Takugawa Family"Rin explained.

Both Witches looked at Kozue with widened eyes.

"Yeah. But after series of marriages, we come to day when my family is Adachi"Kozue added.

"Wow, it's must be nice to have a samurai bloodline, Kozue-san"Yoshika said.

"Yeah, maybe"she gave Rappumaru back to Sakamoto and turned to Rin"Can you give the forms to them?"

"Hai"the red haired girl answered and reached her pocket. She pulled two forms and gave them to Witches.

"Now, if you want to sing up to school, you have to fill this two forms"Kozue explained"After that, we'll take you for a little trip around the ship and you could go to your rooms numbered 423 and 425".

"At least, they're not so far from each other"Sakamoto noticed.

"Yup. So. See you later"Rin said and together with Kozue, she walked away.

Yoshika and Sakamoto started to fill the form.

21:01

USS _James Madison_ , Deck 4

After a long trip with Michael, Shirley went to her room. He showed her almost everything from Main Deck to Deck 7, of course including the mess hall, shooting range, hangar and garage. She was still excited after seeing the tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other vehicles. But still, the most exciting for her was seeing the helicopters. She never though that aircraft that can brood in the air can even exist. The Black Hawk was real surprise for her.

She was walking through one of corridors, when she heard someone saying:

"Look who we have here".

She stood behind the corner and saw three boys standing in front of black skinned girl. She had long black hair and green eyes.

"I though that we had this behind us already"the girl said.

"So you were wrong. We still waiting for this money"one of boys said.

"But I already gave you 20 dollars! I don't own anything to you anymore".

"It's you're final mistake!"another boy exclaimed.

He hit the girls in her belly. She fell on the ground and cringed. One of boys put his boot on her head.

"We want the rest of money to be ready tomorrow. Understood?"

"Hey, you three!"Shirley shouted as she exited from around the corner.

The three boys looked at her. After a few seconds, they exploded with laugh.

"You gonna be kidding me!"the one that hit the girl said.

"Girl, better go away from here. It's not your affair"the first said"And dress some pants".

"I'll go from here"Shirley answered"when you leave her".

The boys looked at the girl and at Shirley again:

"Okay, we leave her. But with one condition".

"What condition?"Shirley asked.

"You'll put down Jack on the floor".

One of boys hit his inside part of hand with fist. Shirley guessed that it must be Jack.

"Okay"she answered and stood in fighting position.

"As you wish. Jack! Take her down"the leading boy ordered to Jack.

"As you wish, lieutenant"Jack said and approached Shirley.

Jack stood in front of her. He looked at her from up to down. He really couldn't withstand without smiling seeing her not wearing pants.

"Listen. Just don't fight. I already have an arranged appointment"he said.

"Well. So let's end this quick. And…"she said.

Jack then lifted his hand and was ready to hit her. Next things were the only matter of seconds. He wanted to hit Shirley, but before his hand collided with her, she activated her familiar and shield. Before Jack could notice, his hand crashed on the shield. He took it back and started to blow on it. He then felt someone taking his hand. Before he knew, Shirley twisted his hand and overthrown him on the floor.

"I wanted to tell that it can hurt you. But you didn't allowed me for it"she said as she kept him on the floor"Now, you know what to say".

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Tiffany! I would never beat anyone again! I promise!"Jack said almost crying from pain.

"Good boy"Shirley said and let Jack go.

He quickly ran away, almost crashing into the corridor turn. Shirley then looked at the two boys that left. They were shaking.

"L-Listen. I'm sorry for what I said before. You look even nice without pants"the leading boy said.

Shirley then noticed a stain in his crotch.

"Now, go away. Or I don't stop myself".

The boys quickly ran away like Jack.

Shirley approached the girl and helped her to stand up.

"Are you okay?"she asked.

"Yes. Thank you…Um…"the girl answered.

"Charlotte. Charlotte E. Yeager. But just call me Shirley"Shirley introduced herself.

"Thanks, Shirley"the girl said as she stood up and introduced herself"I'm Tiffany. Tiffany Rigs".

"Sorry for being intrusive…but what they were talking about? Why you owe money to them?"

Tiffany stretched back of her head, and after a little though she replied:

"I wanted to have a good grade from history test and…I paid them to prompt me by in-ear communicator"

"Really?"Shirley asked crossing her hands.

"Hey, I really wanted to pass this exam!"Tiffany exclaimed.

Shirley just shook her head.

"By the way, how did you made that thing that damaged Jack's hand?"

"I'm a Witch".

Tiffany examined her with strange look.

"You're kidding?"she asked.

"No"Shirley said as she activated her familiar.

Tiffany jumped from surprise.

"Wow. From now, I really believe in magic"she said.

"As you say"Shirley added"But now. Can you say where room 1928 is? I have to occupy it for a while. I'm new one here".

"Room 1928? Of course I know where it is. I live in it"Tiffany said and added"And now I know why they brought the uniform from new student there".

"So, we'll be the subtenants. On the way, I'll tell you how is it possible that I'm Witch"Shirley said.

Then, together with Tiffany, she went to her new room. After a while, they reached it. The room looked like Hisako's and Diana's room, but with differences. Posters advertising movies were only on one side, which probably was Tiffany side. Two desks were turned face to face with computers and books. The TV and DVD player was there as well. Tiffany's bed was blocking the wardrobe. The shelf's were filled with photos of Tiffany and her family and books. On the second bed was laying an navy blue uniform with skirt and black tights.

"Well. It's probably my uniform"Shirley said.

"Yes. Make yourself comfortable"Tiffany said and started to change.

In the meantime, Shirley started to check if uniform is laying good on her.

21:03

FGS _Wilhelm II_ , Deck 3

Barkhorn and Hartmann had to live in the same room, just like in their world. Honestly, it didn't bothered them, because they learned how to live in one room. But Barkhorn was aware that Hartmann will change this room into a scrap-heap as she did back then.

"Ahh, and common room again. Why it don't surprise me?"Hartmann asked.

"Because Anton said only two rooms. It was known"Barkhorn stated.

"Wait you hear that?"

They heard a buzzing-wheezing sound. As they listened closer, they knew that the sound is becoming louder.

"Head down!"Barkhorn suddenly said.

Right then, something passed over their heads so fast that they couldn't define what it was. When it disappeared behind the corner, they stood again and looked in that direction.

"What the hell was that?"Hartmann asked.

"I have no clue"Barkhorn answered truly.

"Hanzi, come back!"a young voice said.

"Pwease!"the same voice said.

When Witches turned, they saw two short girls with gray eyes and brown hair. Both were dressed in gala uniforms.

"Hanzi didn't hit you, right?"the first girl asked.

"No. But what the hell was that?!"Barkhorn exclaimed.

"We dropped the parrot off the leash. Let him know that it is the weekend".

Witches looked at each other, after hearing that it was a parrot.

"Unfowtunatewy, we can't catch hin now"the second girl said.

Then, the first one palmed her face.

"Where my manners? I'm Ursula Litshanz and this is my twin sister Conny"she said.

"Pweasuwe to meet you"Conny said.

"I'm Gertrude Barkhorn and this is Erica Hartmann"Barkhorn introduced them. Then, she asked"Why is she talking in that way?"she pointed at Conny.

"She has a speech defect. She can't say 'l' or 'r'. This is the only thing that letting to distinguish us"Ursula explained.

"Oh. Okay"Barkhorn said"By the way. We're new here, and can you tell us, where room 312 is?"

"Sure. You have to go straight this corridor"Ursula pointed at the corridor that she and Conny came here.

"Thanks"Hartmann said.

"No pwobwem. Now, we have to catch Hanzi"Conny said and they both run to catch the parrot.

The Witches looked as the two disappear behind the turn.

"Nice girls"Erica stated.

"Yeah. But now, let's go to our room"Barkhorn said.

After a few minutes, they reached their room. It was no much to describe. Two desks with computers and books, two beds and shelf's, TV and DVD player. The room looked really empty. On the beds were laying two uniforms. One light gray and second dark gray.

"You know what? It's been a while since I wore tights"Barkhorn said looking at tights attached to uniforms.

"Yeah, me too. Let's see if they have good size"Hartmann said.

Then they started to measure the uniforms.

21:06

Room 222

Minna also arrived to her room. She looked around all of it. It was a one person room so there was only one bed and one desk, like Sobczak's room. The walls were filled with posters of musical bands, so probably the previous owner of this room probably was killed by Chinese.

What didn't made Minna feel good.

On the bed was laying a light gray uniform with dark skirt and tights. She came up to it and took it.

"Well. Even Fallschirmjäger uniform didn't changed it's color"she stated.

She looked at the the uniform from all sides. She opened the wardrobe and hung the uniform in it. She stated that she will try on this uniform tomorrow in the morning.

21:07

JDS _Isoroku Yamamoto_ , Deck 2

Sakamoto and Yoshika also arrived to their rooms. As the rooms were really close, Sakamoto said that Yoshika can come to her room always if she needed something.

"Okay. So I think it's time to see those rooms"Sakamoto stated.

"I think the same, Sakamoto-san"Yoshika said.

They both came up to their rooms doors. Sakamoto opened them and entered. Before Yoshika did the same, she heard a voice:

"Hey!"

She turned to see a boy at her age with short brown hair and green eyes. He ran up to her and stopped.

"Um. Hi"he said.

"Hi"Yoshika answered"Do I know you?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm private Shin Matsumoto. You helped me back then on Polish ship"the boy, now named Shin, explained.

Yoshika then remembered.

"Oh, right! You was the one with three gun shot wounds, am I right?"she said.

"Yes, it was me"Shin answered"I wanted to thank you. And, how you did that?"

"It's thanks to my Healing magic"Yoshika explained.

Shin looked confused.

"Healing magic?"he asked in concern.

"Yes. I can show you"she said as she activated her familiar.

Shin widened his eyes at this sigh.

"And that's because I'm from different world".

"After seeing this animal ears and tail, I can believe that you're from alternate world"Shin said"Once again, thank you for saving me".

"Sure. Oh, and I'm Yoshika Miyafuji"Yoshika introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Yoshika-chan"he said"See you later".

After these words, he walked away and Yoshika entered the room. It looked like other persons rooms. Under one of the walls was bed, the TV was hanging on wall with DVD player under it. On the site opposite to bed was wardrobe. On the bed was laying a green JSDF uniform. Yoshika took it.

"So it's time to start a new period in my life. I think"she said to herself.

She started to measure the uniform.

21:08

 _Mannerheim_ , Deck 6

Eila was also about to see her room. From what she heard, she'll be having a common room with someone else. She was curious what type of person will her subtenant would be.

She was walking through the corridor until she stood in front of room 593 doors. From behind them, she could hear a rock music. She slowly grabbed the handle and pulled it.

Immediately she was hit by a music wave and she quickly covered her ears. After a few seconds, the music silenced and she uncovered her ears. She then looked around the room. There was two beds, one blocking the wardrobe, TV on wall and DVD player under it. The shelf's were empty On one of beds was laying her new uniform. On the little table next to the second bed was standing a boombox.

On the same bed was laying a girl with hair ending in place where neck connects with head. She had green eyes and was dressed only in white T-shirt and white panties. She was sending a unpleasant look to her.

"You couldn't fucking knock?"the girl asked harshly.

"Um…"Eila was not sure what to answer"I…I have to live here. I'm new in this school".

"This explain this uniform"the girl pointed at Eila's uniform"And who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, eh…My name is Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen"Eila quickly introduced herself.

The girl stood up from the bed and came up to Eila. She pulled her hand to her.

"Suvi. Suvi Takken"the girl introduced herself.

Eila took Suvi's hand and shook it. Before she could let go, Suvi pulled her closer and whispered:  
"Don't think that I'm fucking happy to have new fucking subtenant".

"New? And what happened to your former subtenant?"Eila asked.

"Well, he was a tank commander. I still remember this flames belching from his turret hatch"Suvi answered.

Eila only swallowed.

" _Heh. Good that I didn't enlisted to the armored forces_ "she though. But looking at Suvi, it was not clear to think if that was a good choice.

"So. Take care of this uniform and I go sleep"Suvi said"I'm not telling good night, because I don't want to".

After she said that, Suvi let go Eila's hand and go to her bed. She laid down and covered with quilt.

In the meantime, Eila took her uniform from her bed. It was a standard gray uniform, the same as Ellen and Eevi were wearing. She took off her Witch uniform and took off her new uniform from hanger. She dressed in it and said:

"Hm. It lays good. I'm wonder how Sanya would look in her uniform".

Eila took of her uniform and wanted to hung it in the wardrobe, but before she did it, she reminded that wardrobe is blocked by Suvi's bed. She leaned over her and heard snoring. The Suomus With only sighed and put the uniform next on the chair as she did with her standard uniform.

21:13

RFS _General Georgy Zhukov_ , Deck 4

Sanya was walking alongside with Linchov, because it turned out that room 6423 is his room.

"Say, Aleksander"Sanya said"Why you didn't told me that my new room is also your room".

Linchov only threw up his arms.

"You know. I also like surprises"he simply answered"There it is".

He opened the doors and showed what is inside. The first and the most noticeable thing was a person in this room. It was a little, around six year old girl with long black hair and brown green eyes. She was dressed in brown blouse and jeans shorts. She was moving on the wheelchair.

When the girl noticed Linchov, smile appeared on her face. She pulled up to him and hugged him in waist.

"Welcome home, Sasha! Where have you been? You always were coming here after every lesson"the girl said.

"Forgive me, sis. I just had to show a ship to someone"he explained stroking the girl's head.

"Who?"the girl asked with interest.

"Her".

He then encouraged Sanya to enter the room. She looked around and saw two beds, one with her new uniform, two desks with computers and books, backpack, wardrobe, TV, shelf's filled with books and photos, posters with ,,Metro 2033" and a mirror in front of one of beds.

Then, her attention again turned on the little girl.

"Hi! I'm Ilya! And you?"Ilya asked cheerfully.

"Aleksandra Litvyak. You can call me Sanya. I'm new one here"Sanya replied.

"And you'll be living in our room?"

"It seems like yes"Sanya replied.

Then, Ilya just turned her wheelchair and pulled up to the one of the desks. Linchov stood next to Sanya.

"As always, she's full of energy. She'll never change"he said.

"She's you sister, right?"Sanya turned to him.

"Yeah. I'm taking care of her since we evacuated from Russia. And because our parents can't"He said the last sentence with sadness in voice.

Sanya looked at him.

"Why they can't?"she asked.

"Our father was in Navy. His destroyer sunk during the Battle of Sea of Okhotsk. And our mother was heavily injured during the Battle of Petersburg. She's in ship hospital and doctors are trying to save her"he explained.

"Sorry to hear that"She then looked at the photos. On one of them, Linchov was kneeling next to Ilya, when she was dressed as ballerina with medal on her neck"And why's your sister moving on a wheelchair?"

Linchov saddened more.

"In Petersburg, she was injured too. The bullet struck her spine. Since then, she's moving on the wheelchair"Linchov said.

Sanya looked at him again. When she saw him for the first time, she was even a little afraid of him. But now, she knew that he actually is care taking boy that want's the safety of his little sister.

"And one thing. You take my bed".

Sanya came up to bed on which her uniform was laying. She already guessed that the second one was belonging to Ilya.

"And what about you?"she asked him.

"Nah. I can sleep in the sleeping bag. It's make no difference for me"he downplayed this.

Then, Iyla appeared next to Linchov. She gave him a piece of paper. Linchov looked at it. It presented him in his full equipment, at least as much full as 6 year old girl could paint, standing over two dead Chinese and with word ,,Hero!"in Russian over it. From one side, it was cute that she considered her brother as a hero. From the second, it was frightening that someone like her paints death people.

Aleksander knelt next to her.

"Ilya, you can't paint such things"he explained to her.

"But it's what you're doing, right?"she replied.

"Yes. But…It's not thing that girls in your age should paint. You understand?".

Ilya only nodded her head. Then, Linchov turned to Sanya again:

"Okay. Now, we're leaving you with your new uniform. Try on it".

After that, he stood behind Ilya's wheelchair and exited the room with her. Sanya then started to try her uniform.

21:15

HMS _London_ , Deck 2

Lynette was also sitting in her new room. As it turned out, it was the same room as Chris lived in. On the wall over his bed was posters with all ,,Fantastic Beasts" movies, on the shelf's were photos of Chris and James accompanied by a girl and ,,Harry Potter" books. Next to Lynn was laying her new light brown uniform.

As she was thinking, Chris entered the room. In his hands, he held two cups of tea.

"Here you are"he said as he gave one of them to her.

"Thank you"she replied.

She took a sip.

"It seems like we're convicted on each other"Chris stated.

"I don't mind it. I even liked you"Lynette chuckled.

"Me too".

After saying that, Chris coughed.

"Are you okay?"Lynn asked.

"Yeah, yeah. It's nothing"After saying this, he coughed again.

"Maybe I should call someone?"Lynette asked more worried.

"It's really nothing".

But he started to cough more. He placed the tea on the table and covered his mouth with hands. Lynette was really worried about it, because she never saw someone coughing that much.

After a few seconds, Chris stopped coughing. He removed his hands and…Lynette almost screamed. His hands and mouth were covered in blood. Chris looked at her.

"Give me medicines. They're in the drawer in my desk"he said.

"But how do they look?"Lynette asked with little fear.

"They're in orange package"Chris explained.

Lynn put down her tea and came up to the desk. She opened the drawer and next to some notebooks she found the orange, cylindrical package filled with blue pills. She gave it to Chris.

"Now, give me water from my backpack"he said when he stopped coughing again.

Lynette opened the backpack and took the water from it. Chris took it from her and opened. He quickly put one of pills into mouth and drank with water. He waited few seconds and said:

"Thanks. You actually saved my life. That was a close one".

"But what was that?"she asked after she calmed down a little.

Chris stood up.

"Myers-Skelton Premature Immunosenescence. It's a genetic disease that affects the blood system. You saw how it works"he explained.

"But you're OK now?"Lynette asked.

"Yes. After the discover of Nitrosium, the medicine started to create medicines stopping the disease development. But not eliminating it and I have to take those pills through all my life".

"Sad"the Witch admitted.

"Yeah. Because of this, I was landing in hospital really commonly. It mean, before Nitrosium. Now I must go and clean this blood. You can then try on your uniform".

After these words, he left the room. In the meantime, Lynn started to try on her uniform, still thinking about what just happened.

21:19

 _La Spezia_ , Deck 1

Lucchini and Lina were already in their room. Lucchini looked around. The room looked like others, but on one of shelf's was standing a rectangular cage with wheel, little house and other such things. Next to her was laying her uniform.

Lina was looking for something under her bed.

"What are you looking for?"Lucchin asked.

"I wanted to show my hamster to you. He escaped from cage somehow"Tieri answered"Pretzel, where are you?"

After few seconds, they herd a squeaking coming from under the Lucchini's bed. Lina reached under it, and pulled a brown hamster. The animal licked it's feet and cleaned it's head.

"Oooooh! It's look so cute!"Lucchini exclaimed.

"I know. At least, he's my pet"Tieri said and looked at Lucchini"Listen. In your application form you written that you're 13, is it right?"

"Yes. What about it?"curious Lucchini asked.

"Because if you want to be in this school on the First Year, you need to be 14, like me"Lina explained.

Lucchini dropped her jaw.

"What?! I don't want to wait for my birthday to fight!"she loudly exclaimed.

Lina though for a moment.

"I have an idea. We can persuade the person responsible for forms to that you wrote one wrong info in the form"she suggested"After your birthday, we'll release the truth".

"Will general agree on this?"Lucchini asked sceptically.

Lina only smiled.

"Who said that we need Ana's agreement?"she asked.

Then, Lucchini smiled too.

"Let's go then"she said and looked at uniform"I'll try it later".

Lina put Pretzel in his cage and closed it. Then, together with Lucchini, she left the room.

21:22

FS _Loire_ , Deck 1

Perrine was right after the ship tour made by Pierre. Although she already saw the ship from the outside, the insides were almost as amazing. She still couldn't believe that school can teach over 100,000 students, not mentioning 500,000. When she asked Pierre how the teachers managing to do this, he simply threw up his arms and answered 'somehow'.

After a short walking, she finally found the doors with number 236 on them. She knocked and after few seconds, the female voice answered:

"Please, come in!"

Little hesitantly, she pressed the handle and opened the door. Behind them, she saw the voice owner. It was a girl, around 17 years old, with blonde hair tied in a braid. She was dressed in a green T-Shirt and blue shorts.

Perrine also looked at the room. The posters over the girl's bed were presenting singers like Shakira, Rihanna or Justin Timberlake. On the shelf's were lying CD's and a radio. There was also uniform laying on the second bed.

"Sorry, but who are you?"the girl asked.

She then again looked at her. Perrine cleared her throat and answered:

"I'm Perrine H. Clastermann of the Free Gallia Air Force. I have to…"

She didn't ended, because girl quickly stood up, grabbed Perrine's hand and shook it.

"Yeah, I heard that I'll be having new subtenant. I'm Laura Rantois, nice to meet you"she said.

Perrine, still little cough of guard by this sudden welcome, said:

"Also nice for me. And yeah. For some time, I have to live here".

Laura let go Perrine's hand and came up to the uniform. She picked it up and gave to Perrine.

"This is your uniform. Try it on"Laura said.

Perrine took the uniform from her and looked at it. It was a navy-blue jacket with skirt and white thighs.

"I think it will be laying good"Perrine said.

Suddenly, they heard someone shouting:

"Oh, it feels so good!"

Perrine looked at Laura.

"What was that?"the Gallian Witch asked.

"Maybe we are the most powerful army in Europe, but this ship has a thin ceilings in rooms, though. Over me, lieutenant Le Fem has her room. You just heard something that happens there from time to time"Laura explained.

"What happens there?"

"You know captain Anton Shrauf of the Heer?"

"Yeah. What those this have in common?"

Laura leaned over Perrine.

"He's Le Fem's boyfriend. Sometimes they're having a little fun in her room. And they giving everything they have"Laura explained more.

Perrine again looked at the ceiling. From Crystal's room she could hear known sounds.

"You know what? I have a friend. And I know that this can sound ridiculous, but…My friend is Crystal double"Perrine explained.

"Really?"Laura asked with little surprise.

"Yeah. She looks exactly like her. But my friend have different eye and hair color. And hearing those sounds…I don't know if I'll be able to sleep".

"Nah. I hear them every time. You get used to this"Laura simply said.

"Okay. Now I have to try this on"Perrine said.

Laura laid down back on the bed and Perrine started to try on her uniform.

22:01

Crystal's room

Anton was laying on the bed with his arms behind head and with smile on his face. He was looking at Crystal, which was buttoning the last buttons in her shirt and wearing her panties.

"Well. I must say, it was energetic"she said.

"Yeah. You was good too. As always"Anton replied with satisfaction in voice.

Crystal then laid next to him.

"You know? I like those your big breasts"he said as Crystal cuddled into him.

"Only them?"she asked belligerently.

"Of course no"Anton said firmly.

Crystal then kissed him on the lips. When she stopped, Anton looked at her.

"It feels strange now"Anton stated.

"What?"Crystal asked.

"After seeing that girl…Well, your double…What was her name?"

"Shirley".

"Exactly. It now feels strange in doing this with you".

"From what I saw, you don't had trouble with that when we started".

Anton then pat her head.

"Hey, and what about your attacks?"he asked with care.

Crystal looked at him and sighed:

"They're more and more rare".

"Maybe a little longer and they disappear?"Anton intrigued.

"I would like too"Crystal answered"But now, better let's go to sleep. We have to be ready for tomorrow exams".

"As you wish".

Crystal then cuddled into him and soon, both of them was snoring.

XXX

 **Well. Finally done. Sorry for so long time, but well. It's here.**

Lina: I also waited when you end. And finally!

 **Yeah. By the way, since I escaped Eila, I haven't seen her around. You know where she is?**

Lina: (shook her head)

Eila: (enters the room) You!

 **Oh come on! Really?! (lifting hands in defence)**

Eila: No it's not this. I'm now more afraid about myself. This my new subtenant…

Sanya: You don't have to be afraid. It's true that she's vulgar, but I think she's not a psychopath.

 **Who knows…**

Eila: NO!

 **Okay, okay! Sorry. And now, see you!**

Lina, Eila, Sanya: Bye!


	6. Chapter 6

**Operation: America Libre is about to begin. But first, some Witches will met their new squadmates and then South American generals adjutants and after that, the strike on Chinese defences will start.**

Chica: Oh, hey. I heard that I'll find you here.

 **Moreno? Shouldn't you be with the rest of South American fleet?**

Chica: I just wanted to discuss some things with you.

 **No. I don't change anything for your favor. Besides, you should go away from here. You know how Anton could react.**

Chica: Honestly, I don't care about him.

Anton: (Enters the room) Hi, I wanted…(Sees Moreno) YOU!

Chica: Okay, maybe you're right! (Runs out, with Anton chasing)

 **They'll never change.**

Lynette: Why does Anton don't like Chica so much?

 **This will be explained in this chapter. Let's start.**

Chapter 6

,,America Libre Pt. 1: The Meetings"

June 21, 2022

06:40

FGS _Wilhelm II_ , tanks hangar

It was a week since Witches arrived to the schools. By this time, everyone already knew about their 'Witchness' and that they were from different world. Some people were skeptic about them, but much students really liked them. When they were asked about their world, they explained everything to the others.

Barkhorn just entered the tanks hangar. She looked around and saw not only tanks, but also some infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carries and trucks. But she turned towards the tanks and after a while, she found a tank with number 001. From inside, she heard some sounds. She cleared her throat and soon, the tank crew exited the tank. It was two girls and one boy. She knew the girls and smiled.

"Captain Barkhorn, what are you doing here?"Ursula asked.

"Well. I enlisted as a new commander of Panzerbrigade 4"Barkhorn explained.

"What? I though that as a Witch, you'll enwist to the Aiw Fowce"Conny said.

Barkhorn then explained. When the Witches did a meeting two days earlier, they were surprised seeing different uniforms they were wearing. Sanya, Barkhorn, Eila and Yoshika were dressed in Russian Army, Heer, Finnish Army and JGSDF uniforms, Minna was dressed in German paratroopers uniform, Shirley, Lucchini and Lynette were dressed in US Marines, Italian Marines and Royal Marines uniforms and only Sakamoto, Perrine and Erica were wearing JASDF, French Air Force and Luftwaffe uniforms. Some also enlisted to different types of forces. Eila enlisted to artillery, Barkhorn to armored forces and Yoshika as a field medic. When they asked themselves why they choose these specializations, some simply replied that 'they wanted to try something new' and others that 'they wanted to know how the life of ground forces is'.

Ursula nodded in understanding.

"Okay then"she said.

"By the way. What happened to the previous commander?"Barkhorn asked.

Ursula stretched back of her head.

"You remember when Chinese attacked ORP _Cracow_?"she asked.

Barkhorn nodded.

"Duwing the fight with some Chinese sowdierw, our commandew opened the hatch and wooked thwough it. And then, the snipew kiwwed him"Conny explained.

"Oh"Barkhorn only said. Then, she looked at the boy. He had short black hair and green eyes and, as girls, dressed in tank crew uniform"And him?"

"Oh. This is senior private Michael Struder, our loader"Ursula introduced the boy.

Michael only nodded.

"Oh, I forgot. Micheal speaks only when it's necessary"Ursula explained.

"Good to know. And what you two doing in the tank?"Barkhorn asked.

"I'm a driver and Conny is gunner"Ursula replied.

Barkhorn nodded her head and looked at the tank. It was surely different from Tigers, Panthers or Panzer 4s. It had a tower with curved front and square back. On the cannon, it had a relief.

"And this tank…What type is he?"she asked the twins.

"This"Ursula patted the armor"is the newest Main battle Tank created by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann".

"What is Main Battle Tank? Not Heavy, Medium or Light?"Barkhorn asked.

"Weww. When Soviets cweated the T-54, it became the most produced tank in the wowd. In that way, the divide on Heavy, Medium and Wight tanks was wepwaced by Main Battwe Tanks"Conny explained.

"And the name?"

"It's the newest Leopard 3A2, straight from factory in States. When our all factories fell under Chinese control, we had to move the production line to USA"Ursula explained.

"I understand this. When Karlsland fell under the Neuroi control, we also moved our production lines to Liberion, Britannia or Orussia"Barkhorn explained.

"So youw countwy is occupied too?"Conny asked.

Barkhorn nodded and then asked:

"How old are you?"

"We're 15 and we're First Years"Ursula answered.

"Wait. If the Germany is under Chinese occupation, then how…"Barkhorn didn't ended, because Michael cut her off:

"Our families were evacuated. When we learned that the 4th School Fleet schools need 5,000 new students for all schools, we enlisted as the first ones"he explained.

"Wow, he really speaks when it's necessary"Barkhorn stated.

"I told ya"Ursula added"So. You want to try this baby and it's 120mm cannon?"

Barkhorn widened her eyes after hearing the caliber.

"You just said 120mm cannon? Even Tiger have 88mm gun"she said.

"New battlefield requirements"Michael simply said.

"Okay then"Barkhorn said"Let's try this. Where's my suit?"

"In the cupboawd ovew thewe"Conny said pointing at the line of cupboards behind the tanks. Barkhorn went to them and the crew started to prepare the tank.

06:48

JDS _Isoroku Yamamoto_

Sakamoto also was about to enter the hangar. She enlisted to the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force as a commander of newly created Shinigami Squadron. The squadron was equipped with the newest version of Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin, more precisely, it's combat version known as Mitsubishi F-10 Shinshin. And it was the first squadron with those planes.

At now, she was passing next to the few F-2s parked in the hangar. Next to some of them, she could see mechanics repairing some parts or rearming the planes. And after a short walk, she finally saw the F-10s. More precisely, six of them. The first one was marked as 'Shinigami 1' so it was her plane.

Next to the aircraft, were sitting their pilots. The squadron consisted of three boys and two girl. One of girls was reading the book and the second one was writing messages on the phone. In addition to them, the boys were playing football. All of them was dressed in pilot suits.

The reading girl had long blond hair reaching her belt and brown eyes.

The girl writing messages gad short black hair reaching her neck, green eyes and a scar on her left cheek.

First of boys looked as the oldest one and had a green hair and green eyes, what even suited him.

Second boy looked on the Second Year and had brown hair and blue eyes.

And finally, the third boy, looking like a First Year had blonde hair and gray eyes.

Sakamoto came up to them and ordered:

"Attention!"

The pilots looked at her and in the matter of seconds, they was standing in one line. Mio looked at them and said:

"I'm Major Mio Sakamoto, and since today, I'll be your new squadron leader! You can call me major, Mio, or Major Sakamoto! Understood?"

"Yes, Major Sakamoto!"the squadron replied.

Sakamoto nodded her head and though:

" _Maybe they're newly formed, but they seem very disciplined"_ Then, she added louder"Now, introduce yourselves!"

The girl with blonde hair spoke first:

"Captain Misaka Narohito, Shinigami 2!"

"Lieutenant Etsuko Hugomori, Shinigami 3!"the second girl said.

"Lieutenant Osamu Akagura, Shinigami 4!"the green haired boy said.

"Second lieutenant Shinzo Moganaki, Shinigami 5!"the second boy said.

"Sergeant Kotaro Kuniko, Shinigami 6!"the third boy said.

Then, Kotaro raised his hand.

"What is it, Sergeant?"Sakamoto asked.

"Excuse me, Major"Kotaro said"but you're one of the Witches, right?"

Sakamoto only smiled and replied:

"Yes I'm".

Kotaro then clapped his hands and said:

"Great!"

He then took a little book and a pencil. He came up to Sakamoto.

"What you want?"she asked.

"In this notebook I have the autographs of every interesting person I've ever met. Can you sign between my dad and Santa Claus?"Kotaro asked.

"Well, sure"Sakamoto replied and took the pencil.

She gave him and autograph and gave the pencil back.

"Nice! Wait a minute…"he said as he noticed that his dad and Santa Claus autographs are actually identical"Hey!"

He walked away and then, Misaka stood next to Mio.

"He's always like this. You just need to get used to this"she explained.

"I'll try"Sakamoto answered.

"By the way. It'll be an interesting experience to have a Witch as a commander"Osamu added.

"It'll be interesting also for me. I never commanded a fighter squadron. Only Witches"Mio expalined.

"So, let's start. But first, we tell you about our planes"Etsuko proposed.

Sakamoto agreed and the pilots started to tell about their planes.

06:56

FGS _Wilhelm II_ , Runway

Because of that the Witches could stop their ranks in the schools, Minna became a lieutenant colonel of the Fallschrimjäger Battalion No.22. At now, she had to met with her new squad, the 7th Airborne Special Operation Team. From information she received, she knew that this squad is a specially trained in the same way as American Navy SEALs.

Now, as she dressed her combat uniform, she had to take part in first training with them. She had her new G36C riffle, B828 helmet, vest and Flecktarn camouflage uniform. And she just stood in front of her squad.

The most attracting attention was a boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes. But the rest of squad was created of three girls and three other boys, together with Minna and the brown haired boy it made eight.

"Attention!"Minna ordered.

In just five seconds all of them stood on attention. Minna looked at them and said:

"I'm lieutenant colonel Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke, and as you probably know, I'm one of the Witches. From now, I'll be in command of the squad. Now, I want all of you to introduce yourself".

"Major Franz Kroshause, sir!"the brown haired boy said.

"Captain Dora Merkel, sir!"the girl with dark gray hair and gray eyes said.

"Captain Astrid Grever, sir!"the girl with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes said.

"Lieutenant Arian Nihelbaun, sir!"the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes said.

"Second lieutenant Frauke Zimmer, sir!"the girl with black hair tied in bun and brown eyes said.

"Second lieutenant Erwin Migwer, sir!"the boy with chestnut hair and one blue eye and one green eye said.

"Corporal Dorothee Hanz, sir!"said a girl with ginger hair and dark gray eyes.

"Okay. I was ordered to have a first training with you as your commander. Pick up your gear and get ready"Minna ordered.

All soldiers started to dress their vests and helmets and of course their parachutes. Minna also tried to do it, but it didn't went well for her.

"I'll help you, sir"Franz said.

"Thank you. And just call me Minna"she answered to him.

"No problem".

Franz helped her with fastening the parachute and patted it to check if it's ready.

"Okay. Ready"he said.

"Let's start the training then"Minna said.

After that, together they went to their Transall C-160.

07:11

 _Mannerheim_ , Training Ground

Eila was ordered to go to the Training Ground where her new unit, the 55th Towed Artillery Battery, should now have exercise. She dressed in her new Maavoimat uniform and she held her helmet under her arm.

Immediately when she entered the Ground, she was stunned by the artillery fire.

" _Surely this guns could wake up even deadman_ "she though.

She looked around and saw the 2A36 Giatsint-Bs being reloaded by the crews. She had orders to be new loader in the No. 2 gun. She quickly found it, because it was the only gun with only 7 crew members. Three were standing next to the gun and four next to the truck. One of them, strong looking, ginger-blonde haired boy with dark blue eyes, was loading another shell to the cannon. The second boy, black haired and gray eyed, pressed correct button and the gun fired again.

"Target hit!"the third boy, with brown hair and dark green eyes and holding binoculars said.

"Good. Now the second one. Lift the guns for 10 more degree!"the firing boy ordered.

Eila came up to them and patted the firing boy arm. He turned and looked at her.

"Who are you?"he asked.

"Lieutenant Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen. I have to be new loader"she answered.

"Finally! I have enough of carrying those shells by myself!"the loader said.

"Quiet, Aadam"the firing boy said to loader and again turned to Eila"I'm captain Lari Juunaisen. The loader is 2nd lieutenant Aadam Korsinnen and our guy from degree change is 2nd lieutenant Yjo Hallian".

Then, Yjo turned around and saw Eila. Before Eila could introduce herself, Yjo asked:

"You're one of Witches, right?"

Eila, in addition of introducing, simply replied:

"Yes".

Yjo hid his binoculars and asked again:

"It's true that every Witch have different power?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"And what is your power?"Aadam joined the conversation.

"It's Foresight. It allows me, let's put it in that way, predict the future, but only the near one. Thanks to this I can easily dodge any Neuroi attack"Eila explained.

Lari put his pointing finger to his chin and started to move it from left to right. In the same time, a smile appeared on his face.

"Predicting near future, you say?"Lari asked with interest.

"Yes. And what about it?"Eila answered with question.

"Nothing. I just think that I just found out how to use it to correct our accuracy".

He came from finger on chin to just rubbing his hands, but the smile was still on his face.

"If you can predict the nearest future, you can tell us if the shell hit it's target. If it didn't, you tell us how many degree we need to move the gun"Lari explained his plan.

"Actually…Maybe you're right"Eila granted.

"So?"Lari asked giving his hand to her"We have a deal?"

Eila gave her hand and shook it. Aadam and Yjo also put their hands on their hands presenting that they're agree with this too.

07:22

FS _Loire_

Perrine and Laura were on their way to hangar. It turned out that they not only have the same room, but also they're in the same squadron. Laura told Perrine that the leader of De Gaul Squadron, what surprised Perrine that the squadron have General De Gaul name, is her twin brother, Charles. And also that the squadron is equipped with the best French aircraft-the Dassault Rafale.

"Is something wrong?"Laura asked seeing Perrine's expression.

Perrine looked at her and shook her head and answered:

"No. I'm okay. But it's true that I'm actually little stressed about meeting you brother and the squadron",

"Hahaha! You don't have to be worried. Charles, Saddam, Jeanette and Henri are really cool guys"Laura said.

They already entered the hangar. They passed next to some Mirage 2000s. And right behind the Mirages were standing the shining Dassault Rafales. Perrine counted that there's around 50 of those planes.

"There they are!"Laura announced.

Perrine then saw six Rafales painted in deep navy blue. She heard that dark camouflage is used mainly for the night missions, so the squadron probably was also doing night strikes or patrols.

She also looked at the squadron members. The first of them, Charles, had blonde hair and dark gray eyes, like his sister and was reading a book titled _Leviathan Awakes_.

The second one was a boy with darker skin, black hair and blue eyes, and a little black beard and was playing game on his phone.

The third was a girl with black hair tied in French braid and light brown eyes, reading a fashion magazine.

And finally, the fourth was a boy with really dark brown hair and beer eyes, also playing some game on phone.

"Hey guys! I got our new squadmate!"Laura announced.

Everyone stopped doing their things and looked at them.

"Good"Charles said and closed the book.

He came up to Perrine and gave his hand to her.

"Major Charles Rantois, but probably my sister already told you"He then looked at Laura"I'm the commander of 23rd Air Superiority Squadron 'De Gaul'".

"Well, it's my turn then"said the boy with darker skin"I'm 2nd lieutenant Saddam al-Zahari, also known as De Gaul 4".

"Your name didn't seem to be French, em I right?"Perrine intrigued.

Saddam stretched back of his head and explained:

"Actually, I'm Algerian. But my grandparents emigrated to France during the Algerian Independence War. Since then, my family lives there".

"Good to know"Perrine said.

Next was the girl with French braid.

"I'm 2nd lieutenant Janette Nancharde, De Gaul 5. But don't think that I'll be treating you as someone more important than me"Janette said pointing her finger at Perrine.

Perrine looked at Laura.

"Janette just have really big ego"Laura explained.

Then, the last one came up to Perrine.  
"Ensign Henri Macron, don't mix up with president Macron, De Gaul 6"he introduced himself.

"Well, now it's your turn"Laura said to Perrine.

Perrine sighed and introduced herself:

"Lieutenant Perrine H. Clostermann, 501st Joint Fighter Wing, Free Gallian Air Force".

"So you're one of Witches?"Henri asked.

Perrine nodded.

"Not only higher rank but also a Witch?! Not fair!"Janette exclaimed.

"Calm down Janette. Maybe she's a Witch from alternate universe and my second-in-command but-"Charles said and was cut off by Perrine:

"Did you said 'second-in-command'?"

"Yeah. You should know that, right?"Charles then looked at his sister.

Laura only laughed hesitantly and said:

"Yeeeeeah…Maybe I forgot to tell her that I'm 1st lieutenant and De Gaul 3, hehe".

Perrine then swallowed. She never been 2IC, so this was something new for her. She though about asking major Sakamoto about being 2IC, but at the end she resigned from this.

"I've never been a second-in-command. I don't know how to do it"she granted.

Charles then patted her back and said:

"I'm sure you're gonna be one of the best 2ICs, De Gaul 2".

A little shiver came through Perrine's back after hearing this sentence.

"Now, you have to try your flying suit. Let's go!"Laura said.

She grabbed Perrine by hand and pulled her to the cupboards with flying suits.

07:29

FGS _Wilhelm II_

Erica also already entered the hangar. She passed by the line of Panavia Tornado's, where some mechanics were checking the flaps or assigning the armament. Actually, those planes looked very interesting for her. She also noticed that mechanics were attaching bombs to the planes.

" _So probably they're something like Ju 87_ "she though.

But the planes that interested her were waiting right behind the Tornado's. She saw the line of Eurofighter Typhoon's, with four green ones between them. And the green ones were these that she was looking for.

Next to the planes were sitting three boys, playing poker on the coffee table. First of them had chestnut hair and light green eyes. The second had blonde hair and blue eyes, exactly like her. And the third boy had brown hair and very light blue eyes.

As she came closer, she could hear what the boys were saying.

"And another win for me"the chestnut haired boy said, putting the cards down.

"How is it possible that you're still winning, Flo?"the blonde haired boy said.

"Maybe I just have a talent for that, Luca".

"No kidding"the brown haired boy said.

Then, Luca, with his eyes, signaled to Flo to turn. He did this and then saw Erica.

"Hi"she said.

"Hi. You're the new pilot that command told us about?"Flo asked.

"Yes. I'm second lieutenant Erica Hartmann of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing and Karlsland Luftwaffe. Also, I'm one of Witches"Erica introduced herself.

"Well then"Flo said and stood up.

He came up to Erica and gave his hand to her.

"Captain Florian Marder, but call me Flo, commander of the 2nd Fighter Squadron 'Jäger'. I'm happy to welcome you in German Luftwaffe"he said. Then he pointed at the blonde"This is lieutenant Luca Ferdar, Jäger 2, and this one"he pointed at the brown haired"is sergeant Markus Gainer, Jäger 4".

"Hi"Luca said.

"Yo"Markus said.

"So I guess my number is Jäger 3, right?"Erica asked.

Florian nodded his head from left to right and said:

"It seems like it. Now, I'm proud to introduce you the Eurofighter Typhoon, the main air power of RAF, Luftwaffe, Italian Air Force and Spanish Air Force, produced by Eurofighter GmBh"Florian said introducing the Typhoon.

Erica started to watching the plane from all sides. The most interesting part of it was it's design resembling the duck.

"If this plane is made by Eurofighter GmBH, then what happened with such companies like Focke-Wulf, Junkers or Messershmitt?"she asked.

"Well. During the next years after WW2, the companies were or assimilated with other companies, canceled or changed name and now doing something different"Luca explained.

"Little sad"Erica granted.

"Yeah. But well. We don't change the past, right?"Markus stated.

Erica only nodded and came back to watching the plane.

09:11

FGS _Wilhelm II_ , Bar&Grill

Mostly for Minna's surprise, the bar on _Wilhelm II_ was pretty similar to the one on _Cracow_. When she asked one of the waiters about it, he explained that Bar&Grill is the line of restaurant-bars working on every School Carrier. Of course, not only them were serving food on ships.

Minna was sitting at table number 19, together with Barkhorn and Erica. They didn't ordered anything, except of water, and started toe to talk about their new squads.

"So, Trude. How it was with your tank and crew?"Minna asked.

Barkhorn took the sip of water.

"Pretty nice. Leopard 3A2 is really good tank, even as good as Tiger. And my tank crew?"she looked at Erica"Hartmann, do you remember those girls that we met week ago? Ursula and Conny?"

"Yes. And what about them?"Hartmann replied.

"It turned out that they are driver and gunner in the tank"Barkhorn explained.

"Oh, nice!"Erica exclaimed"I must say that my new squadron is also nice. Typhoon's are the planes from which you can be proud of".

Minna nodded her head and took the sip of water.

"And you? How is the life in paratroopers?"Barkhorn asked Minna.

"Also pretty nice. It's a little strange being in the air without Strikers, but I must say this. You really can feel this adrenalin when you're falling from about 7 kilometers and when you feel the jerk of opened parachute. Really"she then changed tone"But I wanted to meet here from other reason".

Barkhorn and Erica looked at each other and again on Minna.

"What other reason?"Erica asked.

"Anton told me that we have to accompany general adjutants with their meeting with their South American counterparts. Our advices can be helpful in this. I asked him that he can give us some more info about them. He said that yes and we have to wait for him here"Minna explained.

As she said that, Anton entered the bar. In his hands he held thirteen cardboard briefcases and three rectangular boxes. He looked around a little and when he noticed Witches, he sat with them.

"This is what you asked for. The files of South American adjutants"he said as he placed the files on the table.

"Where did you get those files?"Erica asked.

"You know. Every school have the files of every student in the archives. I had to ask our archivist to get those from South America"Anton explained.

Erica had nothing more to say. Barkhorn then turned her attention to the boxes.

"And these boxes?"she asked.

"This is a little present to you from all of our fleet adjutants"Anton simply replied.

Witches opened the boxes. Inside, they found three flat and rectangular devices. They took them out of boxes and watched from all sides.

"What is this?"Minna asked.

"It's phone"the boy replied, making Witches wide eye.

"Phone? You're kidding, right?"Barkhorn asked in disbelief.

"No. It's mobile phone. More precisely, the newest iPhone XII"he explained"If you had to stay here for some time, we though that you need to get used to modern technology. Of course, to make your stay enough comfortable".

Witches looked at the phones one more time and hid them to their pockets.

"Well then. I have to go now"he stood up and immediately sat again.

"What's going on?"Erica asked.

"It's Big Hans. Pretend that you don't see him"Anton ordered.

Witches looked in the direction of the door. In them was standing a muscular boy with brown hair and dark gray eye. He was dressed in Heer Heavy Nitrosium Troopers uniform. As he was looking at everyone in the bar, the atmosphere was changing on really restless.

Suddenly, the boy moved and came up to the one of tables, where the group of First Years was eating fries.

"Who is the strongest here?!"Hans shouted.

"You are, Hans!"one of the First Years answered.

Next, Hans came up to the girl barman and hit the countertop and again shouted:

"Who is the strongest here?!".

"You are, Hans!"the barman answered.

Next, he turned to another table. Anton with fear noticed that Hans is coming towards them.

"Oh shit, he's coming here!"he said.

Hans stood next to their table and shouted:

"Who is the strongest here?!"

Then, Barkhorn grabbed Hans hand, activated her Super Strength and squeezed the hand. Hans howled from pain and fell on his knees.

"Okay! You don't have to say, if you don't want to!"Hans said in fear.

Barkhorn let go his hand and Hans ran out of the bar. Everyone looked at Barkhorn with shine of respect in their eyes.

"(whistle) Nice one! You showed him where crays are wintering!"one of the First Years said to her.

"Now, I really have to go"Anton said, but before he went away, he turned to Barkhorn and said"And true. Good job with Hans".

After he leaved the bar, Minna turned to two Witches:

"Okay. Let's start the research".

She opened the first of the briefcases. On the photo was a black skinned boy with short black hair and green eyes. The photo was signed 'Cap. Ademar Botata, Brazilian Army'.

In the second was a photo of girl with dark blonde hair and light green eyes. It was signed 'Lt. Anna Sofia Valles, Venezuelan Army'.

In the third one was boy with ginger hair and dark brown eyes. He was signed as ' . Diego Rael, Chilean Army'.

The fourth one presented another girl. On her head grown golden hair and her eyes had beer color. She was signed as 'Cap. Lola Colon, Uruguayan Army'.

The fifth was a dark skinned boy with dark brown hair and gray eyes. The sign on the photo said 'Cap. Greg Roberts, Guyanese Army'.

Sixth one was girl with bright brown hair and dark brown eyes. Sign under photo said 'Cap. Paola Hurtado, Bolivian Army'.

Seventh was a boy with black hair and light blue eyes. He was signed as 'Lt. Santiago Ibarra, Paraguayan Army'.

Eighth was another boy. His head was covered in with long chestnut hair and eyes had dark blue color. The sign was saying 'Cap. Hugo Ortiz, Ecuador Army'.

Ninth, but not last, was boy with light blonde hair and dark, almost black, brown eyes. He was signed as ' . Axel Brito, Peruvian Army'.

"Well. This is called 'and interesting bunch'"Barkhorn stated, looking at Brito's photo"What's left?"

"Only Colombia, Argentina and Suriname"Minna said. Then she looked at Colombian adjutant photo and bit her lip"But I don't know if you'll be happy after seeing her Colombian photo".

"Why? Let me see"Barkhorn insisted.

Minna showed Colombian photo to Erica. She did the the same as Minna.

"I think she's right"Erica said, but Barkhorn did the gesture saying 'Show me this'. Erica sighed and said"On your own risk".

Barkhorn took the file of Colombian adjutant, looked at the photo and her expression changed into real anger. The photo in the file showed face of…Marseille.

"Are you kidding me?!"Barkhorn exclaimed. She looked at the sign. The girl was signed as 'Cap. Chica Moreno, Colombian Army'"Even Marseille have her double?!"

"Don't worry. Not only she"Erica said and gave her another file.

On the photo was another known Afrika Korps Witch, and more precisely Raisa. The photo was signed as 'Sgt. Tess de Jong, Suriname Army'.

"At leas, she has her double too. Maybe she'll held Marseille's double from doing something stupid"Barkhorn stated.

"What if Moreno has, like Crystal, different behavior that her Witch counterpart?"Erica suggested.

"Phi. Crystal is exception. Other doubles are exact copy of us. Helena, Natalia, Lina. They're exactly like us"Barkhorn reminded.

Erica took the last file and widened eyes from surprise.

"You think that we should tell Sanya about this?"she asked.

Two Witches looked at each other and with surprise noticed the same as Erica. The girl from Argentina was double of Sanya and was signed as 'Sgt. Conzuela de Cortez, Republic of Argentina Air Force'.

"Wow, now I wonder how many doubles are in this world"Barkhorn said.

"In my opinion? Everyone of us have it's double"Minna stated.

She looked at the clock pendant over the entrance.

"Okay, we should go. The meeting with South Americans is at 10:00"she said.

"Let's go then"Barkhorn added.

Witches took the files to take them back to archive and after that, they went on ORP _Cracow_ , where the meeting had to took place.

09:38

ORP _Cracow_

The UH-60 was landing on the helipad. When it's wheels touched the ground, door opened and Michael and Shirley came out of the chopper. The Liberion Witch was still excited about the possibilities of helicopter. Especially about it's ability to brood in the air.

"Christian was right. Helicopters are awesome!"she said.

"Yeah. The armed ones are awesome as well. Especially Apaches and their Hydra missiles"Michael answered.

"I agree with you. The armed ones are awesome as well"she granted.

Next, Michael looked to the east and pointed in that direction.

"And there's South American Fleet"he said.

"A little far"Shirley noticed.

"Yeah. But they should already be on the ship".

By the next ten minutes another choppers were arriving, from which other adjutants and Witches were exiting. When everyone were there, Saltarski, Adrian, Hisako, Helena, Natalia and Janos came up to them.

"Look who came back to the living ones!"Maleroshka said after seeing Helena.

"Nah. But not without scratch"she answered and lifted her uniform jacket.

In the place where she had scar was whitening a bandage.

"Heh. Wound for soldier is like medal"Crystal stated.

Helena only nodded.

"Good to see you again"Saltarski said shaking hands with everyone.

"We're also happy to see you"Pierre replied.

"What about Souths?"Crystal asked.

"Already on-board. They're waiting in conference room"Hisako said.

Then Minna raised her hand.

"And why are you need us?"she asked.

"We're going to tell them about you. And let's say that they're a little skeptic about some things, so they would be wanted some kind of evidence"Adrian explained.

"Let's say that we understand you"Perrine said.

Linchov rolled up his sleeve and looked at his watch.

"Better let's go. The meeting is about to start"he said.

"You're right. Let's go"Ellen granted.

With her words, everyone went to the conference room.

10:00

Superstructure

The group just entered the corridor in which the doors to conference room were. When they came up to them, Saltarski turned to them.

"Okay. Witches will wait here until we say them to enter"he said to Witches.

"Why?"Eila asked.

"Because we want to save the surprise for both you and them"Hisako said with smile.

Witches only nodded and adjutants entered the room.

Inside, the South Americans were already waiting for them. The series of short welcomes started. Anton and Moreno only sent crooked looks to each other.

"Long time no see"Moreno said to him.

"Long since Berlin"he answered.

"So. Can we start?"Lola asked.

"Before we start, we want to introduce someone to you"Kozue answered.

"Who?"Diego asked with interest.

Saltarski turned towards the door and said:

"You can enter!"

Witches then entered the room. You don't know how big was surprise of Witches and South Americans after seeing that some of them are doubles of persons they knew. Especially big surprise was for Sanya and Conzuela. And other Witches were surprised by seeing Chica and Tess, because of their similarity to Raisa and Marseille.

"Okay, what's going on here?"Axel asked confused.

"Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Witches!"Adrian announced.

Witches then activated their familiars, what made South Americans wide eye.

"Really, can you explain us this everything?"Conzuela asked.

"Sure. So, it was like that…"Adrian said and started to tell.

In short, but not bypassing the most important parts, he told them everything what happened when Witches arrived and how they enlisted to Military High Schools. With every his word, the adjutants were making more and more surprised faces.

"…and that's how it looks like"he ended.

"Wow. Something that you don't see everyday"Moreno stated.

"Yeah. But how is it possible that some of you are…doubles?"Anna asked.

"We don't know ourselves. We were as surprised us you are now"Mio said.

Then, Tess came up to Anton and asked:

"Do you know how's my sister doing?"

"Nora? Oh, yeah. She's fine. Last time I saw them when we left London. She and her school, like others, are preparing for Operation: Night Torch"he replied.

"Thanks"Tess said and walked away.

Then Barkhorn came up to him and asked:

"What's with her sister?"

"Her sister is Nora de Jong from Dutch Army. Their parents divorced and Tess, together with father, went to Suriname and Nora with mother stayed in Netherlands"Anton explained.

"The reward for 'The one who knows everything' goes too…"Moreno said with irony.

Anton looked at her with disgust.

"You better stay quiet"he advised.

"Well, I didn't sent my team for death"she answered with smile.

This was enough for Anton. He probably would threw himself on Moreno, if Linchov and Hugo didn't stopped him.

"Moreno, come on!"Linchov exclaimed.

"Chica, that was blow below the belt!"Hugo added.

Lynette, as everyone surprised by this, came up to Crystal.

"What is she talking about?"the Britannian Witch asked.

Crystal sighed and explained:

"When the Chinese invaded Europe, Colombia sent some volunteers to help us. Chica was with them. During the Battle of Berlin, Anton's squad was surrounded by Chinese. Chica was ordered to help them. She ignored the order to help them, and continued to retake Reichstag. The building stayed under Chinese control, however. When we were preparing to leave Berlin, Anton entered the base. He was all covered in blood and started to shout at Moreno that it's her fault. He was totally broken by lost of squad".

"Mein Gott"said Barkhorn standing next to them.

"Yeah. We're still surprised that he came out of this"the French girl stated.

Anton calmed down and two boys let him go. Moreno turned her face with winner smile on it. Minna and Erica stated that Barkhorn was actually right about Moreno.

"Okay, let's get this meeting underway. Operation: America Libre will not do herself alone"Janos said.

The screen in the room turned on and showed the map of South America. But what was mostly strange, was that the continent was colored with two colors: red and brown. Red occurred on all of Columbia, Venezuela, Suriname, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Brazil. Brown was on all of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and part of South-Western Bolivia. Seeing the look that Witches gave to this, Greg explained:

"The red color symbolize the terrains controlled by China, and brown is where forces of Muerta Roja have set up their positions".

Then, Yoshika raised her hand.

"Sorry, but what is Muerta Roja?"she asked.

"It's the special force of PLA created from South American citizens recruited to Chinese Army. Chinese have such type of special force in some regions important for them"Lola explained.

"In which regions?"Minna questioned.

"In the Middle East they have Guardians of Middle East. In South-East Asia they have New Vietkong. In Scandinavia they have Odin's Servants. In Japan, Red Shoguns. In Central Asia, Red Horde. And in South America they have Muerta Roja, what from Spanish means 'Red Death'"Hugo said.

A little shiver came over Witches back's. This name for Chinese South American special force was perfect.

"Get this started. Did you chose the place in which we have to start the invasion?"Linchov asked.

"Actually, yes"Anna answered.

The map then zoomed on Argentina, and more precisely on the city of Comodoro Rivadavia and it's photo, probably made by a spy plane, appeared. Every Muerto Roja position in the city was marked with red marker.

"Our U-2 spy aircraft, that US gave us when China invaded us, made this photo. We plan to start operation in Comodoro Rivadavia, and then start the march on Buenos Aires"Moreno said.

"Why we don't land in some closer port, or even in BA itself?"Lina asked.

Diego only waved his hand and explained:

"It's too clear. Chinese probably think that we try to land as close to Buenos Aires as possible, so they fortify every port city that is close enough to their South American Headquarters".

"That's why, to surprise them, we'll land more far from there. And break through every red Slant-eyed"Moreno added.

This made every Japanese and Fusoan person angry.

"Don't call us Slant-eyed! We know you talked about Chinese, but it's offensive to every Asian!"Hisako exclaimed.

"Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese…Who cares? They're all Slant-eyed for me"Moreno said with indifference.

But everyone just let this sentence despite the ears.

"Just stop arguing with each other, okay?"Sanya said"If you want to plan the invasion, you need to be agreed with each other".

"Exactly. We have to fight China, not ourselves"Conzuela supported the Orussian Witch.

Everyone looked at each other. Both girls were right. In this war, China was the enemy they had to defeat. If they would fighting with themselves, the day when China will surrender can never came.

"They're right. We're on the same side at least"Maleroshak noticed.

"So? Peace?"Anton said to Moreno.

Moreno, as everyone, surprised by this gave her's hand to him. Anton shook their hands and let her go.

"Why are you…?"Moreno asked, but was silenced when Anton raised his hand.

"I didn't told that I forgiven you. We'll be friends only during the operation. After that, we'll be enemies again"he explained.

Moreno just threw up her arms, symbolizing 'Let it be'.

Minna, meanwhile, was watching the plan of the city. From what she was seeing, the photo made by spy plane showed that enemy positions were mainly focused on the beach, and were actually strong. Anti-ship missile launchers, machine guns nests and some artillery on the back lines. So the frontal assault could end with heavy losses or failure, if the enemy forces managed to defend. In the other parts of the city AA and radar positions were marked. An they also were enough to shot down air ride.

Then, an idea popped in her head.

"What if we drop paratroopers behind Chinese lines?"she asked.

Everyone immediately turned their attention on her.

"You know. The beach defences maybe are weak, but enough good to push back the invasion force. Also air support could be shot down by their AA defences. So I though that with my paratroopers, we could land behind enemy lines, mark their positions and then you'll launch attack using your ships"Minna explained her plan.

Her Witches looked at her with little surprise, while some adjutants shook their heads with respect.

"It was a good idea to take you here"Eevi stated.

"So we have a plan"Rin added.

"But Minna, are you sure?"Mio asked her official commander"You only had one training with you paratroopers. You're sure they can do it?"

"I saw them in action at the training and I'm sure they'll handle this task"Minna stated.

While everyone was talking, Sanya noticed Conzuela standing under the wall. It seemed like no one other noticed this. She came up to her.

"Hey. Why are you standing here?"the Orussian Witch asked.

"I prefer to not be in sight when something important is happening. I prefer to stay out of the way"Conzuela explained.

Sanya then reminded that she don't even know her's double name and that she didn't introduced herself.

"Sanya"she said giving her hand.

"Conzuela"Conzuela answered with smile and shook Sanya's hand.

Sanya also noticed a piece of paper in Conzuela's pocket.

"What is it?"she asked.

Conzuela looked at the piece of paper in her pocket. She took it and it turned to bee a photo of her with teenage boy.

"It's the last photo that I took with my brother Rodrigo. He just ended the Military High Schools and became sailor on our submarine ARA _San Juan_. Then, I saw him last time"she explained.

"What happened to him?"curious Sanya asked.

" _San Juan_ disappeared in 2017. It's wreck was found a year later. No one survived of course".

This made Sanya feel sorry for Conzuela. It looked like she really loved her brother and lose of him was actually really painful for her.

"So why you joined army?"Sanya asked.

"Because I also wanted to be in army. That's why I joined Air Force"the Argentinian girl explained.

Before Sanya asked another question, Minna said:

"So everything is set. We start at 23:00".

Others just nodded their heads.

"Okay, let's go back. And see you tomorrow on land"Tess said and every South American adjutant left the room.

Anton turned to Minna.

"It's true what your subordinates talk about you. You actually have good plans"he granted.

"Yeah. Now, let's go. We need to prepare"she said.

With that, everyone left the room and Minna went to prepare for the para drop.

XXX

 **And finally done. Someone expected Sanya, Marseille and Raisa double?**

Raisa: Actually? Me.

 **Oh. But now. In the next chapter, Minna and paratroopers will make some mess in Muerta Rojo defences, so you can wait for it.**

Maleroshka: Wait next few weeks.

 **Hey! It's not my fault that in the week I don't have a time because of school! I ended this, only because I have now vac to the end of the year.**

James: Whatever.

Greg: And why you put Witches in this forces?

 **I don't know. In my opinion, they just fit to them. And if you want to know why there's no Trinidad and Tobago, it's also SOuth American country, it's because China didn't invaded it.  
**

Greg: Oh.

 **Eh. Okay. See ya in next chapters.**

Maleroshka, Greg and James: See!


	7. Chapter 7

**The second part of the 'America Libre' Arc. This time, it'll be more focused on Minna and her paratroopers, as you can know from the previous chapter. So you can expect some firefight.**

Franz: Why always we, paratroopers, getting the hardest jobs.

 **(Threw up arms)**

Minna: Well. I see that at least, we have to do our job.

Mio: It seems like it.

Barkhorn: Yeah.

 **So. You're mission is simple. Mark the Chinese defences in Comodoro Rivadavia for the ships weapons.**

Minna: Easy to say, hard to do.

 **Remember that it was your idea.**

Minna;Yeah.

Franz: We'll live, we'll see, how it would be.

 **But now, start the chapter.**

Chapter 7

,,America Libre Pt. 2: Death in the dark"

June 21, 2022

22:32

FGS _Wilhelm II_ , runway

Minna already called her team. She quickly explained her plan to them. They'll be dropped from American C-17 from the high of 10 kilometers, beyond Chinese radars. Truth will be told that Ida expected negative reaction of her team. Much to her surprise, they agreed to this.

"So. We start in the next 30 minutes?"Dora asked.

"Yes. We'll be dropped on the city outskirts here, here and here"Minna said pointing at Calle Ocaso, Av. Polonia and Calle 748 streets on the map she had with her"Then, we met at Av. 10 de Noviembre street".

"That's the plans I like"Dorothee granted.

"Well then. Take your equipment and we can go"Minna ended the meeting.

Everyone went in separate directions, took their weapons and loaded on the plane.

22:49

On the way to Comodoro Rivadavia

The whole plane was filled with silence. Only source of sound were the engines outside. Paratroopers were sitting on both sides of hold. Soon, the voice of pilot came on speakers:

"ETA 11 minutes".

Minna sighed and then said:

"Okay. How many beacons do everyone have?"

"Together, around 28. You think that this 'll be enough for all defences?"Frauke answered, checking her Panzerfaust 3.

"It has to be enough. And we have to be quick. We don't wanna be hit by those missiles"Erwin added.

"Exactly. Also, if someone met any resistance on their way, eliminate it"Minna ordered.

"You don't have to tell us, colonel"Astrid said reloading her G36.

"By the way, Minna. It's your first mission as our commander. How do you feel?"Franz asked.

Minna just threw up her arms and answered:

"I don't know. Until now, I was fighting only Neuroi, except of Battle of ORP _Cracow_ ".

"So this will be something like baptism of fire for you"Arian stated.

The last minutes before target again passed in silence. After that, they again heard voice of pilot:

"We're over the city, prepare for drop".

"Okay. Put on masks!"Franz said.

As they were jumping from 10 kilometers, they needed the oxygen masks to breath at this height.

As Franz said, everyone put the masks on their faces. Next, they stood up and turned towards opening hold doors. Now, there were no retreat and they had to do their mission, if allied forces had to land on the shore and push inland.

They waited until red light change on green and when this happened, Minna ordered:

"Jump!"

When she said that, everyone ran towards the hold ramp and jumped. Minna felt the air hitting her, but thanks to the mask, she didn't had to close her eyes because of air pinching eyes. She turned head and saw Erwin making 360 degree turn. She only shook her head. She looked down and saw Comodoro Rivadavia closing towards them.

Seeing that the earth is coming closer and closer everyone started to release their parachutes. Minna wanted to do the same and pulled the cord. When she noticed that parachute didn't opened, she pulled one more time. And third and fourth. When the fifth time gave zero effect too she covered her head with arms and was ready to crash into the ground. First para drop and already death? That was something she didn't expected.

Suddenly, she felt someone grabbing her by waist. Next, she felt the jerk of opened parachute. Few seconds passed before together with her savior, Minna touched the ground. The Witch quickly removed her mask and looked at him.  
"Everything is okay, colonel?"Franz asked.

"Yes. Thanks for saving me"Minna answered.

"I saw that you can't open parachute, so I couldn't left it like that"he explained.

Suddenly, Minna pulled him behind nearest house. Surprised Franz didn't managed to do anything.

"What are you…?"he tried to say, but Minna covered his mouth with hand.

On the street was marching a full platoon of Muerto Roja soldiers. Even in the dark, they could see Chinese uniforms with two flags: one was Chinese and second was flag of one of South American country.

Minna and Franz waited until the patrol will leave the street and exited from behind the house.

"That was Muerta Roja?"Minna asked.

"Yes. As you saw, the flags on their arms symbolized that they're both South Americans and Chinese soldiers"Franz answered.

"It's a little sad. They were pulled into the army they never should fight for".

"Yeah. But we can't do anything about this. We now need to meet with others".

He then took silencer and installed it on his riffle. Minna did the same with hers and both went down the street, to meet with others.

Suddenly, they heard shouting in Spanish:

"¡La Coalición es shere! ¡Fuego! (Coalition is here! Fire!)"

They both turned and saw squad of Muerta Roja with riffles aimed at them. Two paratroopers quickly hid behind nearby car, just second before Muerta Roja fired. The bullets pierced through the car's windows and flew over their heads.

"I didn't expected this!"Franz said.

He leaned over the car mask and aimed at one of Muerta Roja. The boy pulled the trigger and fired. Soon, he saw heads of two soldiers exploding in geyser of blood. Next, he again knelt behind the car.

"Two down. Only four left"he said.

"Now it's my turn"Minna said and leaned.

She pulled the trigger of her G36. She saw as bullets flew through one of Muerta Roja and him, falling on the ground. Three that left hid behind another car and Minna knelt again.

"Give me grenade"she said to Franz.

The boy quickly gave grenade to her. Minna once more leaned from behind the car and threw grenade. It landed right under the car, behind which the Muerta Roja was hiding. The grenade exploded, and the fuel in car's fuel tank, made explosion even bigger, killing two last soldiers.

"That's what I call 'ending with big bang'. Man, how this sounded?"Franz asked himself.

"It's not important now. We need to move, before someone come to see what happened. Those sounds probably turned attention of those patrol from minutes ago"Minna said.

"Good point"he granted.

They stood up again and went to meet the rest of squad.

Meanwhile…

Av. Polonia

Erwin and Astrid landed in their landing zone too. They quickly hid their parachutes and took the masks off of their faces. Astrid one more time checked their ammo status and stated that it's enough for their mission.

"Now we have to meet with others. Hurry, we don't have much time"she said.

"You always have to be like that? We can just went slowly, we'll get there anyway"Erwin objected.

Astrid sent tired look to him.

"And you always have to be lazy. How did you even became paratrooper?"she asked.

The boy just threw up his arms and said:

"I marked whatever in application form".

The girl just palmed her face and shook her head with disgust. Even when they were children, Erwin always tried to not do much.

"You hasn't changed through all those years. Even when we were going to the same school"she said.

"Nah. I'm from those people that never change"Erwin answered with smile on his face.

Right then, they heard sound of engine coming from the street. They turned, and were blinded by light. After some seconds, they noticed that light belong to Chinese CSK-141 armored car. Also, they noticed that machine gun on the top of vehicle is, of course, aimed straight at them.

"Hide!"Astrid said and pulled Erwin behind one of houses.

When they were running towards the cover, the machine gun released it's fire on them. And when they hid behind the house, the car moved forward, so the two quickly run behind the house.

"Complications. Complications everywhere"Erwin said, waving his hand.

"Shut up. It's not any kind of complication"Astrid replied"Come. I have a plan. I distract the, you kill the driver".

"And next?"

"Next, I'll kill gunner".

They moved behind the house, with hope that CSK-141 won't decide to drove on the back side of it. Next, Astrid went on the second side of house. She leaned from behind the corner and aimed her MG36 at car back. She pulled the trigger and fired. Bullet hit the armor and as she expected, gunner turned his attention to her.

This was used by Erwin. He exited from behind the house and aimed at driver. With one bullet, he pierced through the glass on side door window and saw the drivers head explode. Gunner again turned in his direction and started firing. Astrid then aimed at him and fired at his neck. She saw as his body fell inside the car and machine gun stop firing.

Both paratroopers exited from behind the house and stood next to the car.

"And problem is down"Astrid summed"Let's move to the meeting point".

Before she moved, she heard Erwin clearing his throat and turned. The boy was pointing at the car.

"We could use this"Erwin stated.

Astrid sighed and said:

"I prefer to go on foot, but yeah, whatever".

Erwin came up to the divers seat and opened the door. The driver's body fell on street. He grabbed it under driver's arms and drew under the house's doors. Astrid did the same with gunner. Soon, they both were sitting in the car: Astrid on the driver's seat and Erwin on the passenger's seat.

"Chauffeur, to the meeting place"Erwin said flippantly.

Astrid tightened her hands on steering wheel harder after hearing this. She grabbed Erwin by back of his head and hit the dashboard.

"Are you crazy?!"he exclaimed.

Astrid, as nothing happened, started the engine and started to drive. Little winner smile appeared on her face.

"Don't call me chauffeur anymore. Understood?"she asked.

"You couldn't just say?"

But Astrid didn't answered this and just drove to the rendez vous point.

Calle 748

Dorothee, Dora, Frauke and Arian were walking down the street. Until now, they met no resistance. They were looking on both sides of the street. Everywhere were just abandoned houses and cars. In their oppinion, it was little sad that so many people had to leave their houses. They even rode that whole population of the city, it means 190, 435 people, been evacuated to refugee camps in Australia and United States.

"You know? I always wanted to visit this city"Frauke said.

"Now you have chance"Arian replied"Only it's a pity that in such circumstances".

"Yeah".

As they were moving down the street, the three paratroopers only walked in silence. Frauke took of her helmet, because it was too hot for her, even in the night. At least, city is on the desert.

Then, they heard characteristic sound: rattle of caterpillars.

"To the house!"Dorothee said.

They quickly entered the closest house. After few seconds of waiting, they saw the source of sound. Through the street rolled an ZTZ-96 tank. Behind him moved two ZBD-05 infantry fighting vehicles and platoon of troops. The three watched as they move down the street and disappear behind the next turn.

They exited from the house and stood in the middle of the street.

"Police hour, I think"Dora stated.

"Most interesting is this that they have no citizens to guard in this police hour"Frauke added.

"Don't think about it. We need to meet the others"Dorothee said.

With her words, they went in the opposite side to the patrol.

23:17

Av. 10 di Noviembre, meeting point.

The meeting point was set up near the El Cmpito dormitory, at the contact of Calle Ocaso and Av. 10 di Noviembre streets. They had to discuss their next moves inside the dormitory.

Minna and Franz were already there and were standing in the kitchen of the dormitory.

"What do you think? How long we have to wait?"Franz asked.

"I just hope that nothing bad happened to them. You remember those shots we heard on the way?"Minna answered.

"Maybe it's just some sort of Argentinian resistance".

As he said that, the CSK-141 stopped in front of the building. Minna looked at Franz with little fear.

"Prepare weapon"he said.

But before the two even took their weapons laying under the wall, Astrid and Erwin entered to the kitchen.

"Good that you're alive"Astrid said as she put down her MG on table.

"Yes, we are. But how'd you get this car?"Minna asked.

"We had a little encounter with it. Driver and gunner should now rot under some house doors"Erwin explained.

Soon, the doors opened and another four paratroopers entered the building, with their weapons drawn.

"Hands up!"Dora exclaimed.

But when they saw other four members of their team, they lowered their guns.

"You wanted to shoot us, right?"Franz asked.

"No. We saw Chinese armored car in front of dormitory and we though that Muerta Roja captured you"Arian explained.

Minna then took a map of city from her backpack and rolled it on the table. All defences were marked in red, as on the photo she saw earlier this day. Other surrounded her and also looked at the map.

"Okay. As you know, we need to mark enemy MG nests on beach, anti-ship missiles batteries and anti-aircraft guns. We put the transponders on them, and wait until the missiles strike. After that, we have to hold our position, until the invasion force will come"she explained.

"I just hope that we didn't had to wait for long. There are only eight of us, against over 10,000 Chinese South American commando"Frauke notted.

"Exactly. But we also can take down their staff. I heard that it's place in the city secretary office"Astrid proposed.

"So, let's take 'em down. This surely distract their command line"Franz summed.

"Prepare your transponders and weapons. We're moving in next 10 minutes"Minna summed the meeting.

She coiled the map and hid it to her backpack. Next, as everyone, she took her weapon and exited the dormitory. Her eyes stopped on the CSK-141.

"Why can't we use this car to get there faster?"she asked passing next to it.

"We don't wanna risk that there are any controls on the city entrance. Muerto Roja first shoot, then ask questions"Arian explained"Besides, the fuel ended when we arrived here".

Minna nodded in understand and whole squad moved down the Av. 10 di Novimbre, to get inside the city. They hoped that there will not be any big resistance.

23:38

The squad was moving almost without any problems. Until now, they faced only little resistance in form of around 50 soldiers through all the way. They easily eliminated them, but it made any difference, when they had to face the rest of Muerta Roja garrison. The real fight had to begin.

When the eight was passing through the street, they were looking around. The pebble road was not big challenge to overtake, but they were looking around, trying to notice any mark of presence of enemy sniper or soldiers in the buildings. They didn't wanted to surprised in the most unexpected moment.

"You know what? This street reminds me neighborhood in which I grew up"Frauke suddenly said.

"Why?"Minna asked.

"You know. I grew up on Hamburg's suburbs. Atmosphere was exactly like here"she just said.

They passed next to Maracana Soccer Fields buildings. Erwin then noticed something, standing on the nearby velodrome track. It was a line of Chinese Type 09 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and some German Gepard SPAAGs. Probably the velodrome was changed into temporary parking for them, when they're not needed.

"Sir. I thing that I found first of our targets"he said to Minna.

The Witch and other members of squad turned too and saw the same as him. They counted around 31 of those things: 20 Type 09s and 11 Gepards. They also heard talks in Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, English and Dutch.

"It seems like we have soldiers from all around the South America"Dorothee stated.

"Yeah. But now, let's put those transponders on those guns and get out of there"Erwin suggested.

"Astrid and Arian. You'll take care of this"Minna ordered.

Both paratroopers only nodded in agreement and disconnected with rest of squad, which continued to move down the street.

Astrid and Arian slowly entered through the main velodrome gate. They saw two Chinese guards right next to it. The duo quickly aimed their weapons at guards and silenced them forever. With silencers, there were no loud bangs. Slowly they approached the line of AA guns. Next to one of them was a mechanic, checking something with Type 09. Arian quickly caught him by neck. The mechanic tried to scream, but he couldn't. Arian soon smothered him enough that mechanic lost senses. The boy put him down on the ground.

"Give me transponder"he said to Astrid.

The girl pulled out the transponder and gave it to Arian. He reached under the AA gun and placed it on it's bottom.

"Now, let's get out of here"Astrid said.

After she said that, the duo quickly leaved the velodrome.

Few seconds later, they joined the rest of squad.

"Good that you took care of it quick"Dorothee said after seeing them.

"There was not so much on our way. Let's now go and take care of the rest of defences"Astrid said.

"Let's go then"Franz added.

Now, they had to reach the Av. Rivadavia street. After that, their next target had to be city secretary office, laying on the Bartolome Mitre street and where Muerta Roja made it's garrison headquarters in the city, as the Intelligence said.

"When we reach this secretary office, then what we do?"Erwin asked.

"We take down the guards, enter inside and kill commander"Minna explained.

"Let this be so easy"the boy threw up his arms.

Suddenly, they heard sound of engines and from behind the next turn drove ZTZ-96 tank. The tank turned it's turret in directly at them.

"Hide!"Minna ordered.

She didn't needed to say it second time. Whole team quickly hid behind the nearby building, right when the tank fired. The road in place where paratroopers were standing right few seconds ego exploded in geyser of earth and fire.

"Frauke! Take this bastard down!"Franz ordered to her.

The girl only nodded and took her Panzerfaust 3. She leaned from behind the cover, but quickly hid again, because the tank machine gun fired at her.

"I don't want to be hit by this MG!"she said.

"Leave it to me!"Minna said.

She activated her familiar, but because of helmet, her ears couldn't appear, so she just removed it. He tail didn't had such problems. Because her squad already knew that she's Witch, it didn't surprised them.

Minna exited from behind the cover and stood in front of tank. The turret turned and aimed it's coaxial machine gun at her and fired. In the same moment, Minna activated her shield. The bullets started to hit the shield, but Minna tried to not fell from it.

"Frauke, now! Before they'll fire the main gun!"she ordered.

Frauke again leaned from behind the cover and fired her Panzerfaust. The missile hit directly in the turret. Turret immediately pursed up and exploded, spreading the pieces all over the place.

Minna deactivated her shield. Franz came up to her and gave her the helmet.

"Are you alright?"the boy questioned.

"Yes. But it was exhausting"Minna granted, putting her helmet on.

The rest of squad also came up to them.

"Now, better let's go, before someone come to investigate this everything"Dora proposed.

"Good idea"Erwin granted.

With his words, they started to move in direction of Av. Rivadavia street. And the did it right in time, because two minutes later, patrol of Muerta Roja stopped next to the tank wreck.

23:59

Av. Rivadavia

Paratroopers were already on the Av. Rivadavia street. From there, they had to turn North in Bartolome Mitre street, where the city secretary office should be. If they could cut the enemy chain of command, then invasion force would have more easy task.

"How long until we reach this office?"Erwin asked.

"Around 6 kilometers"Franz answered.

"Great!"Erwin exclaimed.

Maybe he exclaimed little too loud, because suddenly Muerta Roja soldiers exited nearby ice cream parlor. Some of them had dirty faces, so together with that and place were they were sitting, everyone could guess what they were doing there.

"¡Manos arriba! (Hands up!)"one of them said.

"You really had to say it so loud?"Astrid asked.

Erwin only threw up his arms. Then, a bullet flashed next to his head. Astrid pulled him behind nearby car, like the others did and the fire exchange started.

Minna leaned up from behind the cover and fired at one of Muerta Roja. Her bullets hit him into hip, but the soldier bent only for few seconds, because he quickly returned to shooting. Then, Franz fired at him, hitting him straight in the face. Astrid did the same and mowed five soldiers with her MG. The ones that remained started to withdraw to the ice cream parlor. But when they closed the door, missile flew through one of the windows and exploded killing the rest of Muerta Roja. The rest of windows were broken by explosion.

Everyone looked in the direction where missile came from and saw Frauke lowering her Panzerfaust 3. She looked at everyone's faces with angry look on them.

"What?"she asked hesitantly.

"Probably every soldier in area heard this explosion"Arian said.

"Hey! You didn't had this problem with that tank!"Frauke exclaimed.

"But we needed you. We could deal with those guys here ourselves, not using your rocket launcher"Dora added.

Then, from far away, they could hear voices of incoming soldiers. From the power of them, they could tell that there are around 70 of them.

"What do we do now?"Dorothee asked.

Minna started to thinking. If they continue to go forward through Av. Rivadavia, they end in hands of Muerta Roja. She then reminded that on the map, she saw other street leading in the direction of city secretary office.

"Everybody, follow me"she ordered.

"As you wish, colonel"Astrid replied.

The group walked back few meters and entered Patagonia street. When they looked behind one last time, Muerta Roja were already searching for survivors from ice cream parlor.

Paratroopers went through the street, hopping that Muerta Roja will be too occupied by checking the parlor. During the walk, they were observing abandoned houses and othey buildings. They slowly moved down the street, and when they stood next to block of flats, Minna turned into San Martin street.

"Why are we going this way, colonel?"Erwin asked.

"Easy. This way also leads to city secretary office"Minna granted.

"You're sure?"Franz asked.

"Yes. I saw it on map"Minna provided.

In this time, they met zero resistance. They moved through San Martin by next few minutes, wondering about how long this mission will take. From around an hour they were only walking through the city and put only one transponder for ships. From every direction they were surrounded by empty shops, houses and other buildings. But the secretary office was nowhere to be see.

"By the way. Why you even joined military?"Minna suddenly asked Franz.

Franz was surprised by his commander sudden question. But of course he had to answer that question.

"Well. My grandfather was paratrooper during World War 2. He was my childhood hero, so I wanted to be like him. That's why I stated to become paratrooper, just like him"Franz explained.

"Oh. And how long do you know them?"Minna pointed at the rest of the squad.

"Actually? Since I joined Bundeswehr"he answered"But then, there was only me, Astrid. Arian and Dorothee. The rest joined year later. Together we though in Europe when China invaded Germany. We were the last ones protecting Dresden".

The Witch was impressed that her new squad alone was protecting Dresden. Not many people would be enough brave to fight alone against whole army.

"But finally, we had to left the city"Astrid added, listening to the talk.

"Why?"Minna turned to her.

"Chinese had number advantage and finally they would overrun us. That's why command ordered us to withdraw. We were lucky that one plane still left in the airport"the girl explained.

Minna nodded her head. She looked to the right and stopped. The rest of squad did the same, waiting for their commanders orders.

"Behind the cover"Minna ordered.

They hid behind the buildings on both sides of the streets. In the distance, they could see parked Brazilian EE-9 Cascavel armored car. Although it had Chinese markings, there and there it still had traces of Colombian Army markings. Someone was sitting in opened turret hatch. They also saw some guards at the entrance to the building, next to which car parked.

"I think that we just found city secretary office"Minna stated.

The rest only nodded in agreement.

"But we now need to take care of this Cascavel. But maybe not destroy it. Colombians would be happy if we give their car back to them"Erwin stated.

"Yeah. Maybe it's true"Dora said. Then, idea appeared in her head"Hey. I have a plan. Come closer".

As she said that, everyone surrounded her. She said her plan to squad, what make them a little uncertain.

"It can work. Actually, it's not so hard to do. So. Who will do it?"Franz asked after hearing the plan.

Dorothee and Frauke lifted her hands.

"Okay. Let's do it as the plan says"Minna said"Dorothee. Go".

"Okay"she said with dissatisfaction in voice.

Dorothee then exited from hide. She entered the street on which secretary office was and waved her hand.

"(whistle) You pieces of shit!"she said to the Muerta Roja.

They quickly turned and saw her. The guards aimed their flashlights at her saw that she's wearing German uniform. Cascavel commander looked down into the hatch and said in Spanish:

"¡Artillero! ¡Disparale! (Gunner! Shoot her!)"

"No desperdicies municiones. Nos ocuparemos de ella. (Don't waste ammo. We'll take care of her.)"one of guards said.

They then started to chase her, and Dorothee ran behind the street turn again. In the meantime, Cascavel commander sit down on his chair inside and closed the hatch.

Guards turned in the same direction of Dorothee, and were greeted by Franz's and Astrid's guns aimed at them.

"Goodby"Franz said and fired at the same time as Astrid.

Two soldiers fell on the ground. The two quickly dragged them out from the Cascavel sight range. Now it was time for Frauke to take the charge.

"Go"Minna said to her.

Frauke exited from the hiding and moved down, next to the walls, to stood next to Cascavel. She then entered up on it and knelt over main hatch. Next, she knocked. The commander opened and exited.

"Tienes…? (Have you…?)"he asked but didn't ended.

Frauke grabbed him by collar and threw him straight on the street. He crashed his head onto the pavement, but it didn't killed him. He quickly turned and now saw the girl in German uniform. But before he shouted anything, the bullet from Frauke gun hit him in opening mouth.

"Comandante, ¿qué está pasando? (Commander, what's happening?"asked the gunner.

The answer was delivered to him in form of Frauke landing on commander's chair and aiming gun with silencer in his face. He saw only light and his head exploded. The driver tried to pick up his weapon, but was quickly silenced too.

Frauke looked at this what she done and stated that it's good.

The rest of squad, especially Minna, watched with awe as the First Year girl quickly and smoothly makes her task. Frauke joined their team month before Witches arrived, and until now they didn't saw her in action. It was really interesting for them to watch.

"I didn't knew that she's strong enough to throw adult man on the pavement"Astrid granted.

"Man learns all the life"Arian stated.

They saw as their comrade exits the car and shakes her uniform from blood that splashed her uniform after she killed the gunner. She looked at the rest and waved her hand to encourage them to come closer.

"Done!"she exclaimed cheerfully.

The rest quickly came up to her.

"Good. Now, let's take down the commander of the garrison"Franz suggested.

The team came up to the doors. They checked that no one is coming from opposite direction of the street. They set up on both sides of the doors and Minna grabbed the handle. She slowly opened the doors, looking for any enemy presence in the hall. Fortunately, the hall was empty.

Minna gave a signal to her squad and they all entered the building. Dorothee closed the doors behind them and they all surrounded Minna.

"Okay. Now, we need to find commander and kill him. Next, we set up the rest of transponders"she said.

"As you wish, sir"Frauke said.

They entered the stairs and went looking for the garrison commander.

Later…

After next minutes of passing by the closed doors, they stopped next to the ones with word 'Comandante de guarnicion'. They immediately guessed that this must be the base commander office. They set up on both sides of doors. From the second side, only silence was heard.

"You think that someone's inside?"Dora whispered.

Minna then activated her familiar. She used her ability and deactivated it.

"Yes. The commander and two guards"she said.

Others looked at her with surprise.

"How'd you know?"Astrid asked.

"As a Witch, I have a special ability. My ability is Three Dimensional Understanding. It allows me to sense where things and persons are at any point in time. That's how I know"Minna explained.

"Cool. You could then help me with finding my lucky necklace. I lost it around two months ago"Dorothee said.

Minna only smiled, but quickly returned to the task.

"So. Do we entering?"Franz asked.

"Do honors"Minna said to him.

The grin formed on his face as he said:

"With pleasure".

He stood in front of the doors. With all his force, he kidded the doors. Surprised commander and his guards couldn't do anything by next few seconds. These seconds were used by paratroopers to kill the guards. Commander also pulled out the gun, but before he used it, he was immobilized by Astrid that twisted his arm.

"Be good boy and then I'll give you a snack"she said to him.

"Fuck off, you Coalition shit!"the commander exclaimed in English.

"We leave you when you tell us where your anti-ship missiles positions are"Minna said to him.

Commander only looked at her and spat. Astrid twisted his arm even more.

"Okay, okay!"he exclaimed"They're under camouflage sheets on the Viteaux and Chenque Hills! Right behind the MG nests pointed at the beach!"

"Thank you"Franz said.

Astrid then let him go. He started to massage his arm, when he noticed that Dora pointed her G36 at him.

"Wait! Don't…!"he wanted to say.

Dora pulled the trigger and the bullet made a hole between commander's eyes.

"And this is done"she said.

"By the way. I forgot to ask. Why our forces not land in northern part of the city on Playa Restinga beach?"Frauke asked.

"Because they want to take the harbor as fast as possible and it's good for hovercrafts to drop tanks. And that's why we have to destroy the beach defences near the port"Minna explained.

Frauke only nodded in understanding.

"Okay, there's the plan. Erwin, Astrid, Arian and Frauke. You'll take care of anti-ship missiles and MG nests. Me, Franz, Dorothee and Dora will take care of enemy AA, radars and supply"Minna said.

The squad only saluted. Next, they divided transponders between the groups and went in separate ways.

00:29

Viteaux Hill

When the group of Astrid, Arian, Erwin and Frauke reached the hills, they saw that commander didn't lied. The DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles launch sites covered by camouflage sheets. Ten giant transporter erector launcher trucks were standing in one straight line. When the group looked under the hill down of the hill, they saw MG nests in form of heavy machine guns in little pillboxes protected by sandbags.

They divided into another two groups. Arian and Frauke had to take out the anti-ship missiles, when Erwin and Astrid will take care of MG nests.

"Let's get it underway. I want the invasion to start soon"Erwin said.

Together with Astrid they already took care of first pillbox crew. They smothered the Muerta Roja soldiers until they lost senses. They didn't wanted to kill them, because they didn't wanted to waste more ammo. They still had to also maintain their position before the Marines will arrive and threw China out of the city.

"Yeah, me too. I want to see US Marines in action"Astrid granted.

They left the transponders in the bunker and exited. They stood behind the next pillbox and listened to the soldiers talk.

"¿Alguna vez has estado en China, por cierto? (Have you ever been in China, by the way?" the soldier holding MG trigger asked the loader.

"No. ¿Por qué preguntas? (No. Why you asking?)"the loader replied.

"Ya sabes. Deberíamos saber algo sobre el país por el que luchamos. (You know. We should know anything about country we fighting for".

The two Muerta Roja was so absorbed by the conversation, that they didn't her Erwin and Astrid coming from behind. Paratroopers caught the MG staff by the necks and started to suffocate them. After next few seconds, Muerta Roja stopped to move. They fell on the ground, while Astrid planted transponder.

"I wish I would know Spanish. I then could understand them"Erwin said.

"Don't whine"Astrid replied.

They did the same with other pillboxes and soon, everything was done in case of MGs.

In the meantime, Frauke and Arian were hiding behind one of DF-21D launcher trucks. The boy was putting the transponder under it, while Frauke guarded two stunned guards.

"Done. Now, let's take care of the rest"Arian said as he took his arm from under the truck.

"Okay. Only nine left now"Frauke added.

They left the truck and came to another one. They repeated the sequence, first knocking out the crew and guards, next setting the transponders. After few seconds, other launchers were marked.

"Good. I hope colonel and the rest marked the rest of these things"Frauke said.

"Yeah, me too"Arian added"We now need to the rest of the squad. We barricade somewhere and wait for our allies".

As he said that, they did it. They set up transponders on the rest of launchers, and went down the hill. There they met Astrid and Erwin.

"You set up the transponders?"Erwin asked.

"Aye, aye, sir!"Arian answered.

"Super. Now, let's go and meet with the rest"Astrid said.

Meanwhile…

Minna, Franz, Dorothee and Dora already set up transponders on the radar and AA guns. Now, they had to mark ammo and other stuff of Muerta Roja supply base. Base itself was set on one of the streets, what was strange for paratroopers, because they had military base to do this.

"There it is"Franz communicated.

On the street in front of them were laying crates with ammunition and other supplies. Around it were walking guards, including one Humvee standing on the seconds side of the street.

"Now, we need to break through those guys"Dora said.

"But maybe do it in silence. I don't want to encounter this Humvee"Dorothee added.

"Yeah. Follow me"Minna said.

She came up and hid behind the group of crates. The squad followed her and hid too. In front of the crates was standing lone Muerta Roja soldier. He didn't heard the paratroopers and still stood calmly.

Minna then grabbed him by vest and dragged him behind the crates. She quickly covered his mouth with hand and Franz ended his life with bullet in the head.

"God, bless the one who created silencers"Franz said.

The Witch only nodded, what also the rest of team did. Next, they moved to the next group of crates. Dorothee aimed her riffle at two soldiers standing next to them and killed them.

"This leaves nine"Dora notted.

Franz and Dorothee quickly hid the bodies behind the crates. The rest of guards was talking or looking in opposite direction and didn't saw this. They quickly regret that, when the squad quickly get rid of them.

"Okay. Now, let's take down this Humvee"Dora proposed.

They quickly ran towards the Humvee and killed the driver and the gunner. Next, they left the transponder in the crate with artillery shells.

"Now, let's move. When we met others, I'll activate the transponders"Minna said"We hid in harbor, that they could find us more easily".

With her words, they quickly ran towards the harbor.

00:48

Near the harbor

They turned into the last turn and saw Astrid, Arian, Erwin and Frauke coming from the opposite side.

"Did you set up the transponders?"Minna asked.

"Yes. You can activate them"Astrid replied.

"Let's first go inside"Franz said, pointing at one of houses"Better not to stand on the open filed when the fire will rain down".

"Good idea"Dorothee granted.

Paratroopers entered the house that Franz pointed, entered one of flats and sat down in the kitchen. Once Minna activate the transponders, their mission will be over.

"Do it"Franz said to Minna.

The Witch pulled out a device resembling standard detonator. On top of it was a red button. She pressed it.

Soon, the squad could hear the explosions all around the city.

01:07

USS _James Madison_ , bridge

Captain Roberts was sitting in his chair on the bridge. He was a middle aged man with short brown hair and blue eyes. He wore standard US Navy captain uniform.

He and other captains of School Carriers were waiting for the signal from transponders to make a cruise missile strike at the Chinese defences. Actually, he and other 4th School Fleet captains expected reluctance to that plan from South American, especially Argentinian, Carriers captains. They, however, agreed on the plan.

"Captain! Transponders are on!"the VLS system officer reported.

"Good"Roberts said to him"Tell other captains to launch missiles"This was to communication officer.

The officer quickly activated open channel and said:

"All School Carriers! Prepare for launch cruise missiles!"

Roberts waited until other captains confirm their readiness, and when they did it, he ordered:

"Fire!"

The TLS officer pressed some buttons, and soon, the cruise missiles been fired from ships VLS systems.

In the same time…

USS _James Madison_ , Dock

Every School Carrier had little dock in it's lowest deck. The dock was used for various things. Some schools were using it as amphibious vehicles bay, some other used it as harbor for river combat boats and motorboats. Some even had small ships, in form of two to three frigates.

Shirley was standing in the line of the 66th Marines Battalion soldiers. She looked around. The M1 Abrams tanks and M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles were loaded on the LCAC hovercrafts and the AAVP-7A1s were waiting for Marines to board them.

"All right Marines!"major Jenkins, commander of the unit, said"We have to fallow missiles to the Comodoro! Once we hit the beachhead, you have to fire at every enemy you see! The harbor has to be ours in the first minutes after landing! Understood?!"

"Yes, Sir!"all Marines, including Shirley, replied.

"Good! Now. Who we are?!"Jenkins asked.

"We're Marines!"

"What are we doing?!"

"Winning the wars!"

"Exactly! Hooah!"

"Hooah!"

After Marines shouted this, they started to load on the amphibious. US Marines were soon joined by Italian, Argentinian, Brazilian, Chilean, Venezuelan and Royal Marines. Over them, cruise missiles were coming towards the city.

01:10

Comodoro Rivadavia

Two Muerta Roja soldiers were patrolling the street near the MG nests sites. When they managed to woke up the MGs crews, which was knocked out by someone, they started to look for any traces of knock outers. Until now, they found nothing.

But suddenly, they heard a sound in sky. When they looked upwards, they hearts stopped. Over a dozen lights leaving a smoke traces behind them were coming towards the city. As they flew over the beach, two soldiers could soon hear far away explosions.

"¡¿Que esta pasando?! (What's going on?!)"the first of soldiers asked.

"Esto significa que...! (It means that…!)"the second tried to say.

But he didn't ended, because few missiles hit exactly into MG pillboxes causing a line of explosions, killing both crews and the two soldiers.

01:39

Shirley was sitting in the inside of AAVP-7A1. In front of her was sitting Michael.

"Hey, Shir. First landing?"he asked.

"Yeah. You know. In my world, I was sometimes just supporting the naval invasions from the air"the Liberion Witch explained.

"Good to know"said Tiffany, who was sitting next to Shirley.

As it turned out, Tiffany was in the same unit as Shirley and Michael. The last week was spent mainly on the naval operations trainings, so they were more prepared on the landing in Comodoro Rivadavia. But it was still not enough to feel enough confident for this.

"Almost at the target!"the 7A1 driver said.

"Okay. Prepare for fun"Michael said.

All Marines then checked their weapons and ammo. The only thing they now had to do, was to put their feet on the beach, and reclaim the city.

Soon, they felt AAVP-7A1 caterpillars starting to move and that they're finally on the ground.

"Now! Move, move, move!"Michael ordered.

The back doors of amphibious vehicle opened. Marines started to stand up and run out of it. Shirley, Michael and Tiffany did the same too.

When they exited on the beach, they saw a little peninsula on which the harbor was located. Some Marines laid down on the sand with weapons aimed their weapons in the direction of nearby road.

Then, from the left came a fire. Some Muerta Roja soldiers were firing at them from the harbor. The 7A1s turned their grenade launchers at them and fired. Their MGs controllers also exited and started to shred the Muerta Roja. The soldiers were quickly silenced and Marines started to move into the both harbor and the city itself.

"We take care of the harbor. Rest of you, take care of the city"the Brazilian commander ordered.

Together with his and some of Chilean, Venezuelan and Italian Marines moved to the harbor.

The rest of Marines in the meantime started to move further into the city and after next ten minutes were on the foreground of harbor, meeting zero resistance from Muerta Roja. On the right, they could see craters after the cruise missiles hits in the beach defences.

While they moved down the street, they came next to the one of the of blocks of flats, the doors of the house opened. Everyone aimed their guns at them and were ready to fire. But instead of Muerta Roja, they saw the squad of Minna's paratroopers. Shirley saw them and smile appeared on her face.

"Commander Minna, you're still alive"Michael said with respect.

"Good to see you, captain Johnson. Shirley"Minna said to her.

"I'm also happy"Shirley admitted.

Suddenly, everyone heard a squeak from behind. They turned to see no one other than…Lucchini and Lina in full combat uniforms. They both had their hairs dissolved and their riffles were freely hanging from belts on their arms. And the source of squeak were Frauke and Dorothee, which breasts were touched by the two.

"And what about her?"Lucchini asked Lina, with hands on Frauke's breasts.

"Nice. Maximum 6/10. And you?"Lina replied, checking Dorothee.

"Only 3/10"Lucchini said.

"S-stop it. Please…"Frauke pleaded.

"Why me?"Dorothee groaned.

All male Marines quickly covered their eyes. All, except of Michael.

"Pervert"Dorthee said to him.

"Not so fast. I prefer boys, so such views don't make any impression on me"Michael calmly explained.

Lucchini and Lina then let go two girls breasts.

"Let's check the others"Lina proposed.

"There's no time for this. We have a city to liberate"Shirley said.

"We can't do this even for the few seconds?"Lucchini asked with hope in voice.

"No"Minna replied"Let's get this city back now".

"Sure thing"the Royal Marines officer said.

They then went deeper into the city.

Not long after it, they encountered the group of Muerta Roja. But thanks to support of Abrams tank, they quickly dealt with them.

The battle raged for another few hours. When the sun started to show up over the horizon, the Muerta Roja started to withdraw. Marines and paratroopers erupted in cheers after their first victory in America Libre.

09:21

Comodoro Rivadavia Harbor

The predictions turned out to be true and harbor was quickly liberated. First forces arrived to it right after last of the enemies were killed and the unloading started. Whole place was now filled with tanks, cars, trucks and soldiers.

Minna and her paratroopers were sitting next to one of the trucks. They had table with drinks and food on it. After the battle, they were really tired, as everyone.

"It was my first mission with you, and I already have to admin this. You're the second best team I was with"Minna said.

"Well, thank…Wait, second?"Franz replied.

"The first is my Joint Fighter Wing"Minna explained.

Everyone then nodded their heads.

Soon, Saltarski approached them. In his hand he had a leash attached to Riley's dog-collar. The dog had an animal version of bulletproof vest.

"Well, Minna. I'm impressed"Saltarski admitted.

"Well, thank you"the Witch replied.

Then, she noticed that on the Riley's vest is inscription saying "POLICE".

"Shouldn't there be inscription 'MILITARY WORKING DOG'?"she asked.

Saltarski gave a strange look and looked at his dog's vest. Then, he palmed his face.

"Damn it. I forgot to change on her military vest after the action"he said.

"What action?"Dora asked.

"Ya know, I'm in school police department together with Riley. When you were setting transponders, we were taking care of group of narcotic dealers"Saltarski explained.

Minna turned to her paratroopers and asked:

"You have police departments on the ships?"

"Of course. We also have firefighters team and other kinds of emergency services"Franz explained taking a sip of water"But students are working in them".

"All students have a additional job on the ship"Astrid added"I also work in school police".

Minna was really impressed by that the students can combine together learning, working in normal jobs and fighting on the frontline. It was something you not meet all time.

A minute later, Leopard 3A2 stopped next to them. The hatch opened and Barkhorn exited the tower, helmet in her hand.

"Trude, I see that you already enjoying this new job. What you gonna do?"Minna said.

"The recon says that Muerta Roja set up a defence circle around the city. We have to make a hole in their lines so our forces can break through"Barkhorn explained.

"So show them your force"Frauke said.

Barkhorn nodded and put on the helmet. She then closed the hatch and tank moved forward.

"I see that all Witches already have settled in our world"Dorothee granted.

"Yeah. But us soon as the device that have to send us back be ready, we're leaving"Minna replied.

"Pity"Erwin said.

They soon saw Colombian and Surinamese soldiers moving to help the tanks in breaking through. Minna immediately recognized Chica and Tess around the troops.

XXX

 **Done! I know that this is not the masterpiece of war story, but I really tried my best.**

Axel: Well. You always can try.

Paola: But try maybe better.

 **Okay, let it be. I try to do it better in future chapters.**

Santiago: We'll see how you improved.

Lola: Exactly.

 **Okay. Now, see ya in the next chapter!**

Axel, Paola, Santiago, Lola: See ya!


	8. School Cahpter 1

**The 'School Chapters' will be the type of chapter telling about our heroes life beyond the battlefield. So, they will be some side-stories. They can be shorter or longer, but it demands on this what I menage to think.**

 **Until now, to the chapter.**

School Chapter 1

,,The Birthday"

June 23, 2022

19:11

ORP _Cracow_ , Mess hall

It was two days since landing in Comodoro Rivadavia and Coalition forces still tried to break trough. Muerta Roja somehow fortified around the city, but were more and more exhausted by the Coalition attacks.

Adrian, on a ladder, was just ending hanging a banner over the entrance to the Mess Hall. The inscription on it was saying: 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY HISAKO AND KRYSTIAN'. It was mainly because today was the birthday of those two.

On the second side was Diana and was hanging the second end of the banner.

"Just a little more"she said.

They then finally hanged the banner and went down the ladders.

"Well, it's done. What about the rest of things?"Diana asked Adrian.

The boy then pulled out an list and checked everything.

"Let's see…"he said"We have banner. I asked Shirley and Tiffany to bring a cake. Minna, Crystal, Anton, Ellen and Erica are buying balloons. Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Rin are taking care of snacks. Helena and Natalia are taking care with delaying Krystian and Hisako. And others should be there at the party start".

"Cool. And what are you going to give to Krystian?"

Adrian then came up to the table with presents and took a package.

"I'm going to give him a book. From some time he's still talking about Polish edition of the sixth book of _The Expanse_ series. So I bought him the _Babylon's Ashes_ "Adrian explained"And what will you give to Hisako?"

Diana reached her pocket and pullet out two tickets.

"You think that she'll be happy about tickets on Margaret's concert in London on August 9?"Diana asked.

Adrian nodded his head and replied:

"I'm sure that yes. At least, Margaret is her favorite singer. But first, we need to manage to liberate South America fast".

"I know"Diana said hiding the tickets.

As she said that, Shirley and Tiffany entered the Mess Hall. Tiffany was holding a white box with transparent upper part. In the box was a vanilla cake with glace inscription, the same one as on the banner.

"And there's our cake. Good"Adrian said as he took the cake from Tiffany.

"Thanks that you're helping us"Diana said.

Shirley only waved her hand.

"Nah. Maybe it's true that we're in this world from a short period of time, but I already liked Hisako"she explained.

"Yeah. Hisako likes you too, from what I saw"Diana said nodding her head.

Adrian opened the box and placed the cake on one of tables. Everything was almost ready, and only balloons and snacks were missing.

As he was thinking about those two things, Minna, Crystal, Anton, Ellen and Erica entered the mess hall with a package of balloons. There were different colors of them, starting from green, through red and ending on gold.

"There you are! So I can now delete balloons from the list"Adrian said as he did this.

"Fine. Choosing those balloons was fun anyway. Especially when Erica inhaled with helium"Ellen said.

Everyone looked at Erica.

"How did you even done this?"Tiffany asked.

Erica hesitated for a moment but finally said:

"I wanted to inflate a balloon little more, but when I put it to my mouth, whole helium was inflated into me".

Diana with difficulty stopped her from laughing after hearing Erica's squeaking voice, but the look that Adrian gave her made her lose the desire on laughing.

"Okay then. Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Rin are taking care of snacks if I'm right?"Crystal asked.

"Yup. We need only them and then wait for guests"Adrian replied.

"I just hope that Linchov will not bring vodka. It have to be a peaceful party, without drunk teenagers"Anton notted.

"God, help us with it"Diana added.

After next few minutes of waiting, Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Rin entered the hall with snacks. They had all kinds of them, including bars, chips, candies and even carbonated drinks. They placed all of this on one of tables and came up to group.

"Sweet! Everything is ready, and we only need to wait for everyone"Diana stated.

"Sad that Barkhorn-san and Janos-kun can't be here"Yoshika said.

Adrian then turned to Minna.

"You got the answer from them? Why you didn't told us?"he asked.

"We though that they'll also send answer to you"Minna explained.

"Eh, okay. At least you know how are they doing in breaking through?"

Minna put her finger to her chin and though.

In the meantime…

Front line, Comodoro Rivadavia outskirts

Barkhorn was looking through her night vision binoculars. In them, she was seeing Muerta Roja and Chinese troops sitting in quickly made trenches and fortified tanks. Fortunately, the hill behind which the tank was standing, was big enough that the tank was whole covered.

She crawled back to the tank and entered the turret hatch. With tank, there was a full company of Hungarian and American troops, preparing for the assault on the trench.

"And how is this looking?"Janos asked.

The Witch turned to him and answered:

"They are prepared. The two lines we captured earlier probably made them think about getting stronger defences".

"What do you mean by that?"Ursula asked from driver's sit.

"They have around four tanks in special trenches"Barkhorn replied.

Janos only nodded and turned to his men:

"Okay, boys and girls. We have to take this trench and break through their final defences. I advice to have some anti-tank weapons ready. We have four tanks to deal with".

"But we have our own tank"one of Hungarian soldiers noticed.

"But one tank is not something that can beat four ZTZ-96s, Victor. Better get ready"Janos said to him.

He then gave Barkorn a signal with his hand. She entered the tank and closed the hatch. Meanwhile, Janos lifted his hand up.

"On my mark…"he said"…go!"

Jnaos quickly lowered his hand signalizing the start of attack. The Leopard 3A2 turned it's engine on and started to cross the hill with infantry.

As they appeared on the top of hill, Muerta Roja tanks and soldiers opened fire at them.

Back at ORP _Cracow_

"They're doing good. After my mission, I was pulled behind the front line, like everyone other"Minna finally replied.

"So, we now just need to wait for others and prepare those balloons. At least, birthday is something what happens only once per year"Rin noticed.

After she said that, first guests appeared in form of Linchov, Sanya and Melroshka. Unfortunately, happened this, what Anton predicted and Linchov brought a bottle of vodka. In addition to him, Sanya and Maleroshka had a rectangular package, resembling a box.

"Linchov, why?"Adrian cried.

"What?"Linchov threw up his arms"It's my present for Saltarski".

"Maybe for you. You know that he's not drinking? And you should go for rehab?"Diana questioned.

It was true that Linchov really liked vodka. The bad thing was just that…he started to drink when he was just 13. But after Illya appeared, he tried to get rid of his addiction. That's why he was walking on a rehab three times a week. It helped him a little, but he was still liking to drink when no one was watching.

"At lest, you two have some different"Crystal said to Sanya and Maleroshka.

"Yup. Together with Sanya, we bough a present for Hisako. It's true that she likes cars, right?"Maleroshka asked.

"Yeah, it's true"Diana replied.

Maleroshka looked at Sanya, and then the Orussian Witch took the speech:

"So we bough her a model kit of Aston Martin DB9. Did I said the name right?"

"Yes. You said it right. You think she'll be happy about it?"Maleroshka asked.

"Surely. She no once told me that she'll buy one herself. Bu the real one Put it on with the rest of presents"Adrian said.

The three came up to the table with presents. Sanya and Maleroshka put their present, but Linchov was stopped by Anton. The Russian saw as the German pull his hand for the vodka. Linchov, with disgust, gave the bottle to him.

"Alcohol to deposit"Anton said walked out with bottle.

Linchov just sent unpleasant look to him.

In the meantime, more and more guests started to appear. Also, the balloons were tipped everywhere where they could be. When this was ready, Diana started to put the candles into the cake.

"You think that I should put 36, to symbolize their common age, or just 18, to show ho old are they from today?"she asked Mio.

"I don't know. Maybe better put only 18"the Fusoan Witch replied.

Diana then took out the half of candles from the cake.

When everything was done, the whole group stood in front of their work fruits.

"That's what I like"Michael said.

Then, Natalia and Helena ran into the mess hall.

"They're coming"Helena said.

"Shit! Quick, hide somewhere! I turn the light of!"Adrian said.

Everyone quickly hid under the table or behind the counter. Adrian turned the light off and stood under the wall, next to the light switch, without moving.

Soon, Hisako and Krystian entered the mess hall.

"Are you sure that Helena and Natalia wanted exactly us to come here?"Hisako asked.

"Yup. They told us to go here"Krystian replied.

As he said that, the whole room was filled by a sound of the power saw. The creeps came through the two backs.

"And did they mentioned about psychopath with a power saw?"Hisako asked, cuddled into Krystian in fear.

"No, they didn't!"he exclaimed.

But before they managed to scream, the light turned on, showing the mess hall changed into the place for a big party. Behind the tables, on which the presents and cake were, were standing all persons that were invited to the party and helped to create it.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"they all shouted.

Krystian and Hisako turned their head ans saw the banner over the entrance. They completely forgot that today is their birthday.

"Happy birthday to you two"Adrian said, placing their hands on their shoulders.

"Damn, right. Today is 23rd"Hisako noticed.

"Yeah, I completely forgot too"Krystian added.

Then, the sound of power saw appeared again.

"But what the hell is with this saw?!"Krystian exclaimed.

Natalia pulled out her phone and clicked the red button to cancel the call.

"Sorry. New bell"she said.

Helena then just hit Natalia in back of her head.

Everyone quickly gave the best wishes as they could to the two.

"Thanks for wishes. And nice to see you there too"Hisako pointed at Witches.

"Yeah. We know each other from just a week, but well. If not you, we probably won't be talking now"Skamoto stated"You know, when Chinese attacked your ship".

When the wishes were over, the time for presents came. As it was expected, Saltarski was very excited by getting _Babylon's Ashes as_ the present. The same was with Hisako when Diana gave her the tickets and when Sanya and Maleroshka gave the Aston Martin.

"I didn't expected to get this book! I though that my collection of _The Expanse_ series books will end on _Nemesis Games_. Thanks!"Saltarski said to Adrian.

"No problem, Boss. I was lucky that Allegro reached even here"Adrian replied.

"I wished to have such model! You're great!"Hisako said to Maleroshka and kissed him in the cheek.

The boy immediately blushed and turned his head.

"T-Thanks, H-Hiko. It's nothing"the Belorussian boy replied.

"Well. When the presents are done, you have to take care of the cake"Diana stated.

She took the plate with the cake and placed in front of the two.

"Now, think about your wish and snuff the candle"she said.

Saltarski knowingly looked at Hisako and they both nodded. Next, they took a deep breath and snuffed the candles.

"So now, officially, you're of age. It's better party than the 18th birthday of my cousin from Sosnowiec"Adrian stated.

"How it was?"Lucchini asked.

"Let's say, that at the end, we had to call four units of fire brigade"Adrian smiled.

 **Zbuntowany Anioł (Fallen Angel)-Łobuzy (Rascals)**

"Okay, folks! It's time for some more fun!"Diana announced, turning on the music.

The rest of party went in dancing, singing, talking, eating and drinking (no, there was no vodka). When everything was over, everyone just went home.

XXX

 **As I said, such chapters can be shorter or longer. It depends on how much material I'll made to them. And they not be free also from some paranormal things or other stuff, including maybe some firefights. But i don't know.**

 **And Rascals, they're Polish disco polo band. If i have to be hones, they're really good at this what they doing.**

 **It's all in this School Chapter. See ya!**


	9. Chapter 8

**After the destruction of Muerta Roja forces in Comodoro Rivadavia, the Coalition push started…**

Greg: Don't spoiler.

 **Sorry. Force of habit. What happened after landing in Comodoro will be told in the chapter itself.**

Lola: Now good.

Rall: Oh, you're here.

 **Rall, no! I tell you when!**

Rall: Okay, okay. (leaves the room)

Ellen: And surprise is gone.

 **Yeah. Better go to the chapter.**

Chapter 8

,,America Libre Pt. 3: Liberation of Buenos Aires and new Witches"

July 16, 1945

12:33

Over Orussia

The 502nd Joint Fighter Wing, commonly known as 'Brave Witches' was patrolling the Orussian skies. The Neuroi threat on the Eastern Front was reduced recently, but there was still a chance of an attack.

The message about the disappear of Strike Witches already spread around the world. Even after the looking for their bodies or any mark what happened to them, the Allied Command still couldn't find anything.

"It seems like this day is gonna be calm as yesterday"Gundula Rall, commander of 502nd said.

"Maybe you're right"Aleksandra Pokryshkin said.

Then, Nikka noticed that Hikari is worried about something. From past few days, the Fusoan Witch was really quiet. This worried Nikka. She flew up to Hikari.

"Hikari, are you okay?"she asked.

Hikari was minted from her thoughts and looked at Nikka.

"Yes, I'm okay"she replied"But I'm thinking about the sudden disappear of 501st. How they disappeared and why there are any traces of them? It's really something strange".

Kanno then joined them.

"I'm pretty sure that it's Neuroi fault"she said.

"Why?"Hikari asked.

"Because when their miasma hit you centrally, there's also no trace of you"Kanno explained.

Suddenly, all Witches were blinded by blue light. They quickly covered their faces with hands, but it didn't helped much.

"What's going on?!"Krupinski exclaimed.

"I don't know! Hang on!"Rosman shouted back.

Then, the blue light completely covered the Witches.

Later…

The Witches removed their hands and uncovered their faces. With that, a surprise appeared on them. They noticed that they were not over Orussia anymore, but were in different place. Somewhere behind the horizon, they were seeing smoke, what could tell that there are some forms of life.

"What just happened?"Sadako asked.

"I don't know. Just a seconds ago we were in Orussia, and now we're here"Aleksandra replied"I don't like it".

"Yeah. Me too. We need to get know what is going on here"Rall stated.

All Witches agreed to this by nodding their heads.

Then they heard a sound of engines. But not the propeller engines, something different that this. This was sound of jet engines.

"Em I wrong or I hear jet engines?"Georgette asked.

"No. You're not wrong"Hikari said pointing in the direction of smoke.

All Witches looked in that direction and saw formation of five planes. And as they predicted, they were jets and they shapes were resembling something like duck.

"Does Karlsland experimented with new types of jet aircraft?"Kanno asked.

"No. And this is not Karlsland. They look too advanced"Rall answered.

Suddenly, one of jets fired a rocket. It was followed by the other four. Witches with fear understood that missiles are going in their direction. They quickly activated their shields, just in the last moment, before the missiles hit in them.

The shock wave pushed them back by few meters, but Witches quickly regained control. "Ouch!"Nikka exclaimed.

Hikari turned to her and asked worried:

"What happened?!"

"This shock wave shook me a little. I'm sure that head will hurt me by next few days"the Suomus Witch replied.

"Why are they firing at us?!"Kanno exclaimed.

"You think I know why?! Just don't let them shot you down!"Rall ordered.

The Witches aimed their guns at the planes. If the pilots wanted to fight, then they'll get the fight. Unknown aircraft were closing more and more. Krupinski was about to fire at the first of those planes.

And then there was a short series from the up and the leading aircraft exploded. Witches looked at each other. Next, they looked up and saw the source of the series. They saw a diving plane.

It was another jet, but it was a different type. Although it had the same duck shape, there were some differences. He continued to diving down and flew through the flames that left after the explosion. Then, just over the trees, the plane made a quick turn and flew up again. Soon, the three new planes joined him.

"De Gaul 2, engaging"the female voice said.

"De Gaul 3, engaging"another female voice said.

"De Gaul 6, engaging"the male voice said.

The three De Gauls joined the already fighting plane. Brave Witches in awe and in fear watched the planes engaging each other. It was new for them to see planes fighting against other planes.

"What's going on here?"Georgette asked.

"I don't know"Nikka replied.

Then the plane that joined the fight first dropped the flares to counter the chasing missile. Witches were amazed even more after seeing this.

The fight lasted for next five minutes, until only aircraft that saved the Witches life left. The four unknown planes were circling around them.

"So. Who do we have here?"De Gaul 1 asked.

Rall looked at Pokryshkin. Witches didn't knew if they can trust the pilots. Who knows if they don't start to fire at them, and saving them was only masquerade.

Rall decided that she'll try.

"This is commander Gundula Rall of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing 'brave Witches'. Who are you and what are your intentions?"Rall said.

There was a moment of silence, before she get the answer:

"I'm major Charles Rantois of the De Gaul Squadron. You can be sure that we don't have any bad intentions".

"How we can be 100% sure that you don't gonna shoot us down just when we turn?"Kanno asked.

"First, because we just saved you from the J-10s. Second, because we have her. De Gaul 2"Charles said to his 2IC.

There was a moment of static, but soon De Gaul 2 spoke:

"This is lieutenant Perrine H. Closterman of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing 'Strike Witches', temporary De Gaul 2".

This was the information that Brave Witches didn't expected to hear. There, in front of them, one of 501st members was a piloting a jet plane, not using Strikers, and was the second-in-command of this squadron! What is going on here?

"I don't understand. What are you doing in jet?"Rall asked.

"We explain on the ground. Follow us"Perrine said.

Rall and Witches had no other options but to agree. They followed the four aircraft. As they were flying, they finally saw the source of smoke. It was a city. From some places, the anti-aircraft fire was coming into the air and sounds of gun fight were heard from various places.

"What, the hell, is going on here?"Kanno asked.

"I don't know. But I'm sure we'll be knowing really soon"Rosman replied.

July 16, 2022

13:02

Moron Air Force Base, Moron, Buenos Aires

The Dassault Raffale's extended the landing gear and touched the ground. Brave Witches landed right behind them. They were surprised after seeing all of this equipment on the airfield. It sure overtaken their for many years. There were almost not planes with propellers, mainly jets ans anti-aircraft guns were looking advanced. But how was that possible?

De Gaul Squadron planes parked in one of hangars, together with two other planes with similar painting. Witches also left their weapons and Strikers in hangars and soon meet with Perrine. Once they stood in front of her, they saw her gray pilot suit. Under arm, she held a pilot helmet.

"Sorry"Hikari raised her hand"But if you're from Strike Witches, then all others are here too?"

Perrine nodded her head.

"So where are they?"Krupinski asked.

"Barkhorn is breaking through the defences of enemy with her Panzerbrigade 4, Eila is somewhere on the back lines with artillery and rest is fighting somewhere else, probably supporting the Panzerbrigade 4"Perrine explained.

Brave Witches then fell in confuse after hearing that.

"Easy. I called them all. We have to meet in one of bases here. I ordered truck that have to take us there"Perrine said and then looked left"Okay, we can go".

Witches looked in the same direction as her and became speechless. In disbelief were watching as no one other, but major Mio Sakamoto and lieutenant Erica Hartmann, also dressed in pilot suits and with helmets under their arms stood next to them

"Let's go. Truck is waiting"Sakamoto said.

"M-Major Sakamoto? Is that you?"Rall asked unsure.

"Of course it's major Sakamoto"Erica replied.

"Okay, now I don't understand anything more"Krupinski stated.

"You understand really soon, Krupinski"Erica said.

"Di I heard Krupinski?"the voice said.

Witches turned to see a young, around 18 year old boy, with blue eyes and black beard and mustache. He was dressed in camouflage uniform with bulletproof vest and helmet. Also, with him came a Shepherd on the leash and also in vest and girl dressed the same, but with white band with red cross on arm, and with black, long hair and green eyes.

"Yes, captain. Why you asking?"Sakamoto asked.

"Nah. In elementary school we knew a guy named Damian Krupinski. He was really pissing off"the girl explained.

He then noticed Brave Witches.

"I think we don't knew ourselves. Captain Krystian Saltarski, 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces, call me Christian if you want. This is Riley"he pointed at the dog.

"I'm lieutenant Hisako Nikamura, 2nd Infantry Battalion medic"the girl introduced herself.

Brave Witches quickly introduced themselves. They were still surprised seeing the girl as a regular soldier.

"By the way, captain. I didn't knew you have a beard"Erica said.

"I didn't fleeced from a month. It had right to grew up"Saltarski explained"Bye for now. We're moving to the action. The city will not liberate itself".

He stroke the Riley's head and with Hisako, he walked away. But Witches managed to hear Slatarski's last sentence:

"I still have acrophobia!"

Then, the truck stopped next to Witches. They entered in and sat.

"First, we have one question"Pokryshkin said"Where exactly we are?"

"We are in Buenos Aires province in Argentina"Sakamoto explained.

"But Buenos Aires is in Neue Karlsland. Not in any Argentina"Rosman noticed.

"You'll knowing everything"Perrine explained.

The truck left the airfield and drove through the streets.

13:28

Coalition Base, Moron City

The base in which Witches had to meet was set on the contact of Domingo French, Almirante Guillermo Brown, Rio Piedras, Lagleyze and Cambon streets. It was formed from some tents, with protection of soldiers and some armored cars.

By all the way, Brave Witches were watching soldiers and their weapons. They were still impressed about the advanced level of those weapons.

Also, Strike Witches told them a little about this world. When the 502nd learned that this is alternate reality, they couldn't believe. The three told about that there never was Neuroi, only wars between the humans, about Military High Schools, the countries of this world and their similarities to their own countries, a little about this what they were doing here, about why girls serve as a regular soldiers and even about the doubles.

After hearing this all, Brave Witches were filled with surprise, excitement, interest, fear and shock.

"I can't believe that in addition to First and Second Neuroi War, there were First and Second World War"Nikka said, exiting the truck.

"And that such big ships as those School Carriers can exist"Sadako added.

"And that the countries here are so similar to ours"Hikari added.

"We were also surprised. It was hard to believe in all of this"Sakamoto summed.

"Year is 2022. Neuroi never existed. Something about is hard to think in our world"Georgette said.

"And the choppers? Wow! That was something cool"Krupinski exclaimed, reminding the choppers that flew next to them when they were in the truck.

"Equal rights for man and woman. That's not something commonly seen"Rosman stated.

"Those doubles also sound interesting"Nikka added.

They entered to one of the tents. There was a big table with some chairs, probably especially prepared for them. They all sat on opposite sides.

"Now, we have to wait on the rest. We try to summarize everything what we have to tell you, when others arrive. We still need to retake Buenos Aires"Erica said.

Shortly after that, other Witches from 501st appeared in the tent. Their different uniforms surprised the Brave Witches even more.

They put their helmets on the table, the ones with guns placed weapons on the ground and sat down with the others.

"So it's true that 502nd landed here too"Barkhorn stated.

"Yeah…Why you have so different uniforms?"Rall asked.

501st looked at their uniforms and then again at Brave Witches.

"It's because, as we said, enlisted to Military Highs belonging to our countries counterparts"Minna explained"Shirley, for example, enlisted to United States Army High School, which is counterpart of Liberion Army".

"And why much of you serve in ground forces?"Pokryshkin asked.

"Just to try something new"Eila simply replied.

"Now. Why you took us here? Those three already told us about this world"Rosman pointed.

"Did Mio, Erica and Perrine mentioned about what war we fighting now?"Minna questioned.

502nd shook it's heads.

"Well then. That's why"Minna replied and started talking.

In that way, Witches learned about how the Nitrosium was discovered and it's capabilities, about Don Nian taking power in China, the start of Chinese expansion into Asia and then Europe, North and South America and Australia, the orbital bombardment of O.D.I.N., the forming of Coalition and until the start of Operation: America Libre.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying, that this world China was the only nation, where was no Nitrosium, and that's why they attacked all those countries?"Rall asked in disbelief.

"Exactly. Until last year, so the 2021, China was achieving only victories. But after the failed invasion of Egypt and lose of Iceland and British Isles, everything started to brake. That why we started America Libre, to finally free South America from the occupation"Barkhorn replied"At least, that's what we already know. By the last month we were liberating the continent, and we even spread to Chile".

"By the way, it's nice to see you again, Nikka"Eila said.

"Also it's nice for me too, Eila"Nikka replied.

Strike Witches then stood up and put their helmets on.

"Hey, where are you going?"Georgette asked.

Lucchini, who was at the end of exiting the tent, stopped and replied:

"Ya know. The Chinese South American Headquarters will not capture itself. We left someone to take care of you. Natalia!"

She then left and in addition to her, to the tent entered…Hartmann, but in infantry soldier uniform.

"Lieutenant Hartmann? How you managed to dress up sou quickly?"Rall asked.

"Oh, no. I'm sergeant Natalia Komesky, Slovak Armed Forces. Erica is just my double from your world"Natalia explained.

Brave Witches widened their eyes in surprise. They heard about doubles of Witches from this world, but didn't expected to meet anyone so quickly.

"I was tasked to take care of you, until we leave the South America"Natalia continued.

"Thank you very much"Pokryshkin replied.

13:41

South Cross main building, Buenos Aires

As the Siege of Buenos Aires lasted from already a week, Coalition troops managed to enter deeper into city. At now, Coalition controlled almost all of the city, except of Monserrat district, in which the most institutions, including city hall changed into South American HQ, were located. Chinese and rest of Muerta Roja were fully surrounded, because the School Carriers blocked the harbor and other sea ways from the city.

Ursula and Conny were laying on the Leopard 3A2 armor, with driver's visors between them. Although all the battle that was raging all over the place, the command platoon of Panzerbrigade 4 was forced to stop, because captain Barkhorn had to take care of the new Witches that arrived to this world.

"So. The new Witches arrived to this world. You think that they will find themselves in our world as quick as 501st, sis?"Ursula asked Conny.

"We'ww wive, we'ww see"Conny replied.

Michael then approached them and entered on the tank armor.

"Stop laying like that. Captain is here already"he said.

Two girls looked at each other and raised up. They saw an Luftwaffe Sea Stallion helicopter landing on the Au 25 de Mayo street, right next to the building. Barkhorn exited from the helicopter and approached the tank.

"I see that you had some rest, when I was talking with Brave Witches"Barkhorn stated.

"Maybe a little. But now, let's get to the work"Ursula said, jumping from the armor"And how was talk with those new Witches?"

"They know everything important about this world, including that we fight in war against China".

"Good. We can now go and get this city hall"Conny said.

The whole four entered the tank. Barkhorn closed her hatch, put the helmet on and took her communicator.

"All command platoon, forward. We have to reach the roundabout, then turn into Av. 9 de Julio street, head North and turn into Av. de Mayo to reach main square. There, we find a city hall and enemy command center. Understood?"she said to the three others tank commanders.

"Yes, Sir!"the platoon leaders replied.

"We'll be supported by the captain Moreno and captain Linchov and their soldiers. Let's take the city back!"

The four tanks then drove on the street and moved down, in the direction of roundabout.

13:45

North-Eastern Monserrat district

The joint forces of Italian, Royal and Venezuelan Marines with support of Japanese Ground Selfe-Defence Force troops were making their way through the Northern part of Monserrat. The Muerta Roja resistance was reducing more and more faster, so they had more easy way.

Lynette leaned from behind the cover and aimed her L118A1 sniper riffle at the Muerta Roja soldier. She pulled the trigger and the bullet flew straight through his head.

She then hid again and looked at Chris, who was sitting next to her.

"Maybe there are less and less of them, but they're still sitting in their positions"he said.

This time, he leaned and aimed his L85A2 and fired a series at the Muerta Roja soldiers. He killed two, but the rest of soldiers replied with their fire. He hid again.

"I agree. I just hope that we retake this city soon"Lynn said.

Then, no one other than Yoshika and Shin ran up to them and hid behind the same destroyed BMP-2.

"Lynn, are you okay?"Yoshika asked.

"Yes, Yoshika. We just have them in our way"Lynette pointed behind her.

Shin tried to see something, but quickly hid his head as the wave of bullets flew over it.

"I have an idea"he said and turned to Chris"On my mark, we threw grenades. Okay, corporal Hunter?"

"Sure"Chris replied and took the grenade.

Shin did the same and started counting:

"3…2…1…Now!"

As he said that, Chris and Shin pulled the cotter and threw the grenades in the Muerta Roja. They fell right between the enemy troops and exploded, killing some of them. Chris and Shin leaned and killed the ones that survived.

"Done"Shin announced.

"Let's move then. We have to reach the city hall as quick as possible"Chris added.

After he said that, the Brazilian APC stopped behind them. The back doors opened and showed squad of Brazilian soldiers, with Adamar in command.

"I see that you handled them good"the Brazilian boy said.

"You could get there faster, you know?"Chris asked.

"Sorry. But now, let's move. We have the city to liberate"Ademar said.

The APC drove forward with soldiers following it.

13:53

Buenos Aires Airspace

The Shinigami Squadron was already in the air. It was about to face the squadron of Chinese J-11 aircraft. Although China lost all airfields in the area, some of them still were slipping through the defences from airfields in Brazil and Uruguay.

They were accompanied by the E-3 Sentry from the JASDF. Because Witches were in this world from some time, they already know what is AWACS for.

"This is AWACS Sky Keeper to Shinigami Squadron. We confirm presence of enemy Ace pilot in the are. It's Green Nineteen"the AWACS communicated.

"Thanks. We'll make sure that he'll not escape from here alive"Sakamoto replied.

The Green Nineteen was one of China's Air Force Aces. All of the Aces liked to paint their planes number in different color. Coalition managed to get information about every single Ace and created special list. Since then, the Hunt for Aces started and Aces became really desirable targets.

The J-11s with Green Nineteen in front fired their missiles. Shinigami did the same, scoring some kills on J-11s and evading all Chinese missiles. The dogfight then started.

Kotaro sat on the tail of J-11 and fired one of his AAM-4 missiles, destroying the plane. Then changed the target on second plane and fired another missile, but J-11 dropped flares. So he treated it with his JM61A1 gun. Bullets smoothly flew threw J-11 armor and forced it to explode.

"Yes! Tenth kill!"Kotaro announced.

"Keep it going, Kotaro"Misaka said"Maybe one day you'll be as good as me".

When she said that, she fired her gun at another J-11 and scored a gun kill.

In the meantime, Sakamoto found the Green Nineteen and sat on his tail. She fired her missiles, but the enemy Ace dropped chaffs and did a quick Barrel Roll, at the same time hitting the brakes and landed behind her. He fired his Gsh-30-1 gun, but Sakamoto made a Aileron Roll and evaded all of bullets. The Green Nineteen then fired two PL-8 missiles and the Witch did a Barrel Roll to avoid it.

Thanks to the time that Sakamoto spent with Shinigami, she learned some new maneuvers. She performed a quick Low Yo-Yo bouncing left and flying little low, then she flew up. Her plane was aimed straight at the J-11s back. She pulled the gun trigger and the bullets flew straight through the right wing of the aircraft. The wing, after it was hit by bullets, started to shake and after few seconds it just broke in half.

"Got you"Sakamoto whispered.

Green Nineteen quickly started to spin, preventing him from ejecting. J-11, spinning, flew straight to the meeting with the ground and crashed into one of buildings.

"Sky Keeper, this is Shinigami 1. Green Nineteen is down. Cross him out of the list"she ordered to the AWACS.

"On your order"Sky keeper replied.

When Sakamoto was dealing with enemy Ace, the rest of squadron took care of the rest of planes. Osamu and Etsuko 'sandwiched' one of last J-11s and fired their guns at up and down of it.

"All aircraft confirm down"Sky Keeper informed"Stay turned for possible newbies".

"Copy that, Sky Keeper. We'll be circling for a little"Sakamoto replied.

"This is sergeant de Cortez. We'll help you with this"Conzuela informed.

Soon, squadron consisting of four Skyhawk's of Argentinian Air Force joined the Shinshin's.

14:00

Northern Monserrat district

The US Marines were moving even faster than other forces surrounding the district. Muerta Roja defences were broken and all Chinese troops were in full retreat. But some still tried to stop Coalition march.

Shirley, Michael and Will were on the same front of the attack force. Together with them were forces of Argentinian, Uruguayan and Bolivian Army. They were firing at every withdrawing enemy troop, that was still in their sight.

"One on the left!"Michael said.

The Liberion Witch quickly aimed her M4A1 at the window in which Chinese soldier with RPG-7 was sitting. She pulled the trigger and the head of Chinese exploded.

"And he's gone"Shirley said, as she came back to firing in front of her.

Suddenly, the whole ground started to shake. Few seconds later, a ZTZ-99 tank broke through the building on the end of the street. The turret turned in the direction of Marines and fired.

"Look out!"one of Bolivian soldiers shouted.

All of them quickly landed on the ground, right when the shell hit. Then, the machine gun on the tank worked and fired at some of laying soldiers, killing few of them. The rest quickly hid behind some wrecks.

"Shit, we need something bigger on this!"Will shouted.

Shirley changed the frequency in her communicator and said:

"Ground Shark 1-3 to Jäger 3! Erica, we need help! We were blocked by enemy tank!"

There was some static, but soon Erica's voice came on the radio:

"Understood, Ground Shark 1-3. Brimstone away!"

After she said that, the Brimstone anti-armor missile hit the tank. It exploded, covering the area in it's parts.

"Thanks, Erica! I owe you something to drink once the battle is over!"Shirley exclaimed.

"I keep you by word!"Erica replied.

All soldiers then again began to move towards the city hall.

"You always have to took photos of everything?"Paola asked Lola.

"It's my hobby. Besides, these photos have to show world what Chinese are able too"Lola replied, taking more photos.

At this point, Paola had to admin right to Lola. When China started the invasion, almost all nations didn't cared about this. Mainly it was about the African nations, which was in some sense depend from China. Others were just afraid. That's why they were still dealing with China and receiving help from Chinese. Maybe when the governments of those nations see those photos, they'll understand their mistake.

"Okay. Make those photos and let's go"Paola hurried the Uruguayan girl.

Lola only nodded and came back to her stuff.

14:11

Av. 9 de Julio

The Barkhorn's platoon already fought it's way through Au 25 de Mayo and passed the roundabout. Now, it was moving up the Av. 9 de Julio street. Russian and Colombian soldiers were moving exactly behind the tanks. Until now, resistance was light.

"Soon it's all will be over!"Linchov said to his soldiers.

"That's right! Let's end this and go back to take Colombia!"Moreno said to her soldiers.

The tanks fired their guns at two enemy tanks blocking the street. Shells hit perfectly between the tower and hull, forcing the crews to abandon the vehicles.

"If we'll be moving like that, we'll get to the city hall in the next 20 minutes!"Ursula exclaimed.

As she said that, the tank their left was hit by a shell and exploded, killing all soldiers moving behind him. It's turret, which was blown into the air by explosion, fell right on the tank marked with number 3. Fortunately, didn't destroyed him.

"What the hell was that?!"Linchov exclaimed.

The answer appeared by itself. In front of them, down the street, were moving two tanks. But they didn't looked like any Chinese or Russian tanks, like those with which Panzerbrigade 4 fough since Comodoro Rivadavia. They looked bigger and stronger.

"Oh shit! They bwought Mewkava's hewe!"Conny said.

"Merkava's?"barkhorn asked.

"Merkava is an Israeli main battle tank and unofficially the best tank in the world! It's slow, but have a really hard armor!"Michael explained.

"So it's gonna be a hard one"Barkhorn stated.

Merkava's then fired again and hit exactly in the Leopard with number 3. The tank again exploded.

"Damn it! Cheetah 2! We're getting off the street!"Barkhorn said to the second tank.

"Copy that."the second tank commander replied.

Barkhorn then said something to Michael. He turned the sticks and the tank turned right. It drove on the Av. Independencia street. Cheetah 2 followed her, the same as the soldiers.

"Tāmen rènwéi tāmen huì táobì wǒmen. Hā! Wǒmen jiāng shìmùyǐdài. (They think they will run away from us. Ha! We'll see)"one of Merkava's commanders said and took the radio"Merkava 2, ràng wǒmen wánchéng tā. Wǒmen huítóu ránhòu zài Av Street shàng zhuā zhù tāmen. Bèi'ěr gélā nuò (Merkava 2, let's get it done. We turn back and catch them on Av. Belgrano street)".

Two tanks as fast as they could turned and drove to Av. Belgrano. Once they get there, they set up on the same entrance on the street and aimed their guns towards it. They waited for some minutes, but the two Leopards didn't appeared.

"Nǐ quèdìng tāmen bù huì cóng cèmiàn gōngjí ma? (Are you sure they will not attack from the side? )"the second Merkava commander asked.

"Tāmen tài shǎle (They are too stupid)"the confident commander of first Merkava replied.

Then, from the nearby Venezuela street drove one of the Leopards. It quickly drove behind one of Merkava's and aimed it's gun straight at the back crew evacuation hatch.

"Good by"Barkhorn said"Fire!"

Ursula pressed the trigger and the gun fired. Shell pierced threw the back hatch and exploded inside the tank, causing the whole vehicle to explode, destroying the nearby buildings. And damaging the caterpillar of the last Merkava.

"Zěnme yàng?! (How?!)"the commander shouted.

Then the hatch opened and showed Moreno.

"Little present from Colombian Army!"she said.

She took grenade, pulled out the cotter, threw it into the turret and jumped off the tank. The grenade exploded, killing everyone inside.

" _Good that non of chippings hit the ammo storage. I don't see myself being blown into pieces_ "the Colombian girl though.

The rest of soldiers and Cheetah 2 joined them. Barkhorn opened the hatch and looked at them.

"Your plan was actually good, Sanya. We destroyed them"she stated.

"Exactly. We now just need to get to the city hall and take care of this"Sanya replied.

Except of the standard equipment of the Russian soldier, Sanya also carried RPG-7 and of course rockets to it, because she enlisted as anti-tank troop.

Linchov, in the meantime, looked around and noticed one of streets going in different direction.

"This little street here also leads to the main square"he said.

Barkhorn and Moreno looked at the street and then again on Linchov.

"You're sure?"Moreno asked.

"I saw on Google Maps"Linchov threw up his arms.

Barkhorn only nodded and hid inside the tank again. They all turned in the street, and were greeted by the fire from the machine guns, rockets and rifles. Fortunately, there was no any TOW missiles, so the tanks just stopped with front to the Chinese fortifications and took all the fire.

"Okay, maybe that was no the best idea"Linchov granted.

14:35

Buenos Aires Airspace

"Fox 3!"Laura said as she fired AIM-120 AMRAAM at the enemy J-10.

The missile hit straight into the plane, making him explode and go down. It was last plane from the squadron that encountered De Gaul.

"Radar is clear. No more bogeys"Charles said.

"Let's just hope, that they were the last ones"Janette stated"I still have a manicure today".

"I'll never understand girls"Henri stated.

Then, the Sky Keeper came on their radio:

"De Gaul Squadron, I'm detecting more enemies coming from the Monserrat district!"

"What? How? There's no airfield"Saddam said.

Right when he said that, ten white shapes passed over them. They were fast, agile and had missiles under their wings. The most important was this, that they had no cockpit.

"Shit. Sky Keeper! Enemy sent UAVs on us!"Charles communicated.

"What?!"Sky Keeper said in disbelief"I though that Chinese UAVs program was just a fake, to mislead our Intelligence!"

"It seems like it's not a fake!"Henri said, as he dodged the gunfire from one of drones.

"What is UAV?"Perrine asked.

"It's short from' unnamed aerial vehicle'. Simply, it's a aircraft without pilot, remotely controlled from the ground. Or by artificial intelligence"Saddam explained"I'll show you when we return on the carrier".

Perrine only nodded, and also dodged the missile.

Laura, in the meantime, looked closer at the UAVs, and something appeared in her head.

"MQ-99s!"she said.

"What?"Henri asked.

"Those drones! They're MQ-99s, container launched drones from _Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown_!"she explained.

"This flying game that I gave you on your 15th birthday? I though it's only a fiction!"Charles said. Then, he reminded one thing"Oh, right".

"It seems like China decided to bring them to the real life".

Janette landed behind one of the drones and fired her gun at him. Bullets hit the sheathing and destroyed the camera and some other sensors.

"Fox 2!"Janette said.

She fired an Sidewinder. The missile collided with MQ-99, bringing him down.

"Maybe they're fast, but not enough!"she exclaimed.

"So this is my present for you!"Laura said making a Loop.

After she made it, she found herself on the tail of MQ-99. Then, the drone paired with another one. Laura did a quick move. She locked on the one of drones and fired a missile. At the same time, she quickly turned to have her gun pointed at the second one and fired. Both drones changed into orange balls of fire.  
"Only seven UAVs left! Keep going!"Sky Keeper said.

"Fox 3!"Saddam said.

He fired his MBDA MICA missile bringing another UAV down. But then, he got information about enemy missile chasing him. So he quickly made a Barrel Roll, evading the missile.

"Those MQ-99s are not so stupid"he stated.

"You don't say?"Henri asked.

Charles hit the brakes and let the drone to overtook him. Once this happened, the boy pulled the trigger, shredding the UAV into pieces with his gun.

"That's what I like to see. Burning UAVs"he whispered to himself.

But he got missile alert and quickly dropped the flares.

"Sakamoto here! De Gaul 1, what's happening?"Sakamoto asked.

"We've got damn UAVs here! We can handle them, don't worry! Only five more left!"Charles replied.

"I trust you're right".

Perrine fired her gun at two MQ-99s, hitting and bringing one down and damaging the second one. When she tried to kill the second, he suddenly turned towards Saddam. On the collision course.

"Saddam, look out!"Perrine said in communicator.

Saddam noticed the drone and quickly tipped the plane on the left, trying to avoid the collision, but the UAV was close enough to hook the Saddam's left wing, which was now pointed down. The drone sliced the part of wing, in the same way breaking his own, and with spinning hit the ground.

"Saddam, are okay?"Laura asked.

"A little. But the wing…"he replied.

"Return to base. Try to land and don't go back in different plane"Charles ordered.

"I'll try"Saddam granted.

In the meantime, Janette and Henri got rid of three remaining UAVs and contacted with Sky Keeper.

"Sky Keeper, this is De Gaul 5. All UAVs confirmed down"Janette reported.

"Good to hear"Sky Keeper replied.

"De Gaul 4 was damaged by enemy. He's now returning to base"Henri added.

"Good. At least, we still have air superiority"

The five pilots then watched Saddam turning to Moron.

14:56

Northern Monserrat district, back lines

The forces in the Northern part of district already connected and were advancing towards the city hall. Muerta Roja had less and less ground and the battle was almost over.

In the meantime, on the back lines of the Northern Monserrat, the Finnish, Polish and French artillery was shelling the positions of China. The unstopped sounds of firing artillery were repeating by every few seconds.

"I love the smell of artillery guns in the morning"Lari stated.

"Me too"Eila granted.

After this month spent on joint work with the artillery crew, she was used to their little wicked behavior. Even when Lari lost all of his and her money in poker, she was not angry at him somehow. But she stated to not give him money anymore.

"This is Captain Greg Roberts! We need support on position 5-9-3! Now!"the Lari's radio cracked.

"Copy that! Shell's away!"he replied to radio"Set up the gun!"

Aadam and Yjo set up the correct angle and turned the gun. Then, Aadam helped Eila with loading another shell.

"Eila, will we hit them?"Yjo asked.

Eila used her Witch ability and nodded.

"Yes. The shell will hit perfectly in the target and the Roberts will thank you by radio"Eila replied.

"Good. Fire!"Lari ordered.

The gun fired and shell fell out of lock. After a few seconds, the Lari's radio cracked again.

"Thanks! You just saved our asses!"Roberts said.

"No problem"Lari replied and turned to Eila"I forgot to say. Your Foresight is the best of the Witches powers in my opinion".

"As you say"Eila replied.

Then, she and Aadam loaded another shell and this time, every single gun fired.

15:06

Monserrat district harbor

Minna with her paratroopers were at the tip of German offensive in Monserrat. After they received info about container launched UAVs, they were ordered to take care of the launch trucks.

"How we recognize the launch trucks, by the way?"Frauke asked.

Franz looked at her and explained:

"They will be having big containers on their gun carriage".

"This makes sense"she said.

Minna then gave a signal to stop. They quickly hid behind some wreckage of ZBD-04 infantry fighting vehicle. There, in some distance, twenty launcher trucks were standing. Ten were already empty, next ten was preparing to launch the drones. They were guarder by some Muerta Roja soldiers.

"There they are. Now, we need to destroy them"Astrid said.

She looked behind her and saw the School Carriers still blocking the sea ways from the harbor.

"Maybe we call some naval bombardment at them?"Astrid asked.

"We take them by ourselves. Frauke"Minna turned to Frauke"It's your turn".

Frauke nodded and grabbed her Panzerfaust 3. She aimed it at one of trucks preparing to launched and pulled the trigger.

The warhead flew at high speed and hit one of the trucks. The truck exploded. But the paratroopers didn't knew, that behind the truck were standing barrels with fuel. The explosion of one truck hit the barrels and caused a chain reaction. Second explosion destroyed the another truck and other explosions hit fuel barrels standing next to every truck. After few seconds, everything went silent. All what left, were only wrecks of the truck and burning bodies.

"Well. That was fast"Erwin said.

"True"Minna replied and turned on the communicator"This is colonel Wilcke. All launch trucks destroyed".

"Good, colonel. Now, return to the rest"command said.

Minna nodded to her paratroopers and the squad returned to the rest of German forces.

15:014

Buenos Aires main square

The Coalition forces already entered the main square. Panzerbrigade 4 command platoon, with Colombians and Russians, also broke through and was now talking with Americans, Japanese, British and South Americans.

"Now, the only thing we need to do is just to take care of this command center"Michael said.

"They're totally fortified there. We need to open the bars blocking the entrance"Moreno said.

"Leave it to us"Barkhorn said.

She closed the hatch and ordered to Michael to set up the tank in front of the building. When this happened, the turret was turned by 180o degree and aimed at the bars.

"Fire!"Barkhorn ordered.

The barrel fired and shell hit the bars. Everything was decorated by an explosion, after which some parts of the the upper floor collapsed, but it was not a big part.

"High explosive shells. Best at demolishing building"Ursula said with thumb up.

"We asked for clearing the way, but not as much"Ademar notted.

"But it's opened. We're going in!"Moreno said.

"We too!"Paola said and Lola nodded.

The Colombian, Bolivian and Uruguayan troops entered the buildings.

Barkhorn, in the meantime, looked behind her and saw some Argentinian troops looking at her with reproach.

"What?"she asked.

"It's not okay with destroying one of most important building in our capital"one of them said.

"But it was needed. If I didn't…"she didn't ended.

On the second side of the square, a tank broke through the building. It aimed it's main gun at the Argentinians and almost fired. But Barkhorn was faster and her tank turned the turret. Sanya also took her RPG-7. Both aimed at Chinese tank and fired at the same time. The tank disappeared in ball of fire.

"Okay, we now owe you"the same Argentinian soldier said.

Barkhorn only nodded. Then, Moreno's voice came on radio:

"We got the commander! He surrendered and now's sending info about capture of HQ!"

"So we did it?"Sanya asked.

"Yes, we did! We liberated Buenos Aires!"Anna jumped with happiness.

All Coalition radios erupted with cheers after hearing the good news. After over a month of fighting and many battles, the Operation: America Libre turned out to be a full success. Now, the Chinese South American Force lost their main headquarters and soon will be destroyed.

15:23

Coalition Base, Moron City

All soldiers started to jump from excitation and joy. Even Natalia, at the same moment forgetting about Brave Witches.

"What's going on?"Hikari asked.

"You didn't heard news? We just won the battle! Chinese South American HQ is ours!"Natalia exclaimed.

Witches looked at each other and also joined the celebration.

15:58

After the joy, came the time for taking care of prisoners. Lines of Muerta Roja and PLA troops were moving down the streets with Coalition troops as escort. Their weapons been taken from them and everything they had were only their uniforms.

Lynette and Chris were two of soldiers escorting the prisoners.

"I never though that I'll manage to live till this situation"Chris said.

"But remember, that the war is still far from over"Lynn notted.

Chris nodded.

"True. But if things will continue like that, maybe we soon reach Beijing"he said.

The boy then started to coughing. Lynette quickly took medicines from his pocket and water. Chris put the pill in his mouth and drink with water.

"Health problems, little boy?"the closest prisoner joked.

"Shut up"Chris shoot back.

As they were walking, soldiers from the back lines were packing everything to leave. Now, they just had to retake continental Europe and Asia.

Helena and Natalia were listening to radio. Interested in this, Rosman came up to them and asked:

"Why are you sitting like that and doing nothing? You're not leaving?"

"No. We just want to know what about Invasion of Japan"Natalia replied.

Rosman gave an asking look, but then, the voice in radio said:

"The Coalition forces in Japan managed liberate Tokyo from Chinese occupation and landed on Hokkaido and Kiusiu. Now, the forces of Red Shoguns are in full retreat and Coalition started an offensive to liberate the rest of Honsiu".

"That's what I like to hear"Natalia said.

"Did I heard names of Fuso islands?"Sadako asked, joining the three.

"In your world it's Fuso, here it's Japan. And yes, you heard. When we were fighting here, our forces also landed in Japan and Australian Defense Force started the counteroffensive, to push back China from it's mainland"Helena explained.

"And how's it going?"Rosman asked.

"Japan is in liberating phase, while Chinese were pushed back all the way to Darwin in Australia"the Czech replied.

When they were talking, Anton and Adrian approached them.

"Why are you sitting like that? We have a party to go"Anton stated.

"Party?"Sadako asked.

"Somehow we need to celebrate this victory! It's one of really few victories we achieved in this conflict"Adrian added.

Everyone just agreed to this and went with them to the party.

21:32

USS _James Madison_ , Main Deck

The whole celebration party was set up on-board of USS _James Madison_. After seeing the size of the ship, Brave Witches just couldn't say anything in disbelief.

Headmaster of the school ordered some snacks and music to be organized. As he said 'students need some entertainment, after the month of fierce fighting'. Especially for this, the stage was set up on which school bands were singing. At least, it was time to celebrate the biggest victory for the Coalition.

Witches were sitting at the table set especially for them. Strike Witches were telling about their feats since they get there.

"And you really brought down whole squadron, just by yourself?"Hikari asked, after hearing Erica's story from Battle of Mar del Plata.

"They had only outdated MiG-21s, captured by them during Conquest of India. Eurofighter Typhoon is more modern and younger. At lest, this is what is written in books"Erica replied.

"I see that we missed many things"Rall stated.

"Yes, you missed. But one thing is optimistic"Minna replied, and seeing Brave Witches asking look added."It's only temporary, until we return back to our world".

"So we don't stay here forever?"Nikka asked with hope.

"Sure. Sooner or later, we be home"Eila added.

"But this war also did some positive things"the female voice said.

All Witches turned, to see lieutenant Anna Sofia Valles of the Venezuelan Army.

"How this war can have positives?"Rosman asked.

Anna sighed and explained:

"Before the Chinese invasion, there was a civil war in Venezuela. It started in in 2019, when Juan Guaido, leader of political opposition, proclaimed himself as a new leader of Venezuela. This event was called coup. Two days later, he was assassinated. Then, the militias started to form all around the country and that's how it started"she took a sip of coke."I however, preferred to join the Army".

"Why?"Krupinski asked.

Anna stretched back of her head.

"Well…Because I wanted. And because my family was really faithful to president Maduro"she explained.

After these words, Anna walked away.

 **After The Blackout-The Fold**

James and Chris came to the Witches table.

"Can we sit? Of course, if there's still place"James said.

"Of course you can"Minna said to him.

Strike Witches moved a little to make place for the boys.

"Always when I'm listening The Fold songs, I fell like child again"James said.

"Why?"Georgette asked.

"When I was 10, I was really fixed at the point of Lego Ninjago. This song was written to the 3rd Season of TV show 'Reactivation'"James explained.

"What is TV?"Rall asked, looking at Strike Witches.

"We explain later"Barkhorn provided.

They then looked at the 'parquet' under the stage. Between the dancing people they recognized Crystal, Anton, Ellen and Eevi .

"They know how to have fun, I must say"Erica granted.

"Ha, ha! Imagine how big will be war ending party"Chris said. Next, he turned to Lynette."Hey, Lynn. What do you say for a little Movie Night tomorrow to celebrate our vicotry?"

Lynette though for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure. Why not?"she replied."What we'll be watching?"

"I have 'Fast & Furious 7', 'Ralph Breaks the Internet' and 'Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters'"he replied.

The Brittanian Witch nodded in agreement.

"What is Movie Night?"Yoshika asked.

"Chris is doing Movie Night from time to time. When Lynette dwelt in Chris's room, they started to do it together. At those nights, they watch movies"James explained.

"We also invite James on those nights"Lynette added.

But then, the air was filled with the sounds of jet engines. The music stopped playing and people stopped dancing. Everyone looked up and saw an B-2 Spirit bomber flying over the ship. Brave Witches were amazed after seeing it's wing-like shape.

"Hey, Michael!"James called the American."You're doing some bombings tonight?"

"No"Michael replied, stopping next to the table"We didn't".

Then, the lights of anti-air defenses turned on, and everyone saw the markings. In form of People Liberation Army Air Force roundel.

B-2 passed over the ship and flew towards Buenos Aires.

"It's B-2 from Rammstein!"Michael noticed."It seems like they want to bombard the city!"

Then, a little light appeared under the B-2 and flew towards the city.

"Did he just fired a cruise missile?"Sanya asked.

"Yes, they did"Chris said.

"What is a cruise missile?"Aleksandra questioned.

"It's something like Karlsland's V1 missile. But more advanced"Barkhorn explained.

As she said that, everyone was blinded by a powerful flash of light. When the dazzle disappeared, all eyes turned to the Buenos Aires. The Northern part of the city was covered under the one giant, glowing 'mushroom'.

Everyone quickly got to the railings on the ship's side. Maybe it's true that the School Carriers swum enough far from the city to not get hit, the remnants of the shockwave reached even there.

"Did they…Did they just blown up half of Buenos Aires?"Janos asked.

"It seems like it"Crystal replied.

Witches still couldn't exit the shock. Strike Witches once saw the nuclear explosion, but only as a recording. Seeing it with your own eyes was something totally different.

In addition, Brave Witches were terrified to the same core. They couldn't believe that humanity can make so powerful and destructive weapon.

"Those damn bastards!"Linchov shouted."They did it again!"

"Again?"Aleksandra asked, looking at him.

"The only nuclear attack during the war was carried on Krasnoyarsk. Since then, Chinese didn't used any nuclear warhead. Until now"Saltarski explained.

The headmaster's voice sounded in the speakers:

"All students, immediately return to your room and ships!"

It was actually the only thing everyone could do. They just turned and walked away to return on their ships.

"Why is everything can't have happy end?"Ademar asked.

No one gave the answer.

XXX

 **And there it is! The last part of America Libre Arc is over. Also, the Brave Witches came into the action. Before someone says that it's too fast, I say like it: I have a place for them in early phases of story. But not in next three-four chapters. The thing that Charles reminded, also is from _Ace Combat 7_. But everything will be revealed during the story. About the Venezuelan Civil War, if you're from Venezuela, I don't tell that your country is about to become second Syria. I'm just worried about this what's happening in Caracas. In case of nuclear weapon, I didn't put the nuclear missile in Buenos Aires to raise the interest in story. It is only isolated case, and nuclear weapon will not be used in future. Well, maybe little episodes in future. But no more 'mushrooms'. I'm, honestly, enemy of nuclear weapons usage.**

 **Some things explained and good.**

Anna: So now, you will focus more on European Front?

 **Yes. Of course, not only. The story will be having some Arcs outside Europe.**

Diego: Arcs like…?

 **I can't tell. Understood?**

Diego: Yes, Sir.

 **Okay. See ya later!**

Diego and Anna: Hola!


	10. Chapter 9

**Okay, folks. The America Libre was a full success. Buenos Aires is again under Coalition and Chinese forces in South America are starting to brake.**

Chris: And it's time to take back Europe!

 **Exactly. But first, we need some preparations. That's why you were sent to London.**

Lynette: I'm happy to see London. I was really curious how it looks in your times.

Yoshika: Me too.

 **Good then. So let's start the story.**

Chapter 9

,,Encounter at Isles"

August 2, 2022

07:33

London, England

It was a sunny and cloudless day in London. The city rebuild was going fast enough. Everywhere were walking people and soldiers. Also, the Royal Family returned from Australia. The liberation still had it's traces all over the place.

The Royal Marines BvS 10 stopped in the harbor and it's ramp started to open. Once it touched the ground, soldiers left the vehicle.

"Welcome to London, Lynn!"Chris said, when he and Lynette left the APC.

Lynette in awe watched at the giant skyscrapers. It was completely different than in the London from their world.

"Wow…"was everything Lynette could say.

"I know what you mean. London changed by all those years, since your times. It's called one of most modern metropolises in the world with reason"the boy said."And it's still hard to believe, that it was under Chinese control just few months ago".

The two suspended their weapons on their arms and looked around.

Except of 4th School Fleet School Carriers, there were also School Carriers of other Coalition members. Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and more ships were presented in the harbor.

"What are we supposed to do now?"the Witch asked.

"We have a whole week before the invasion of France. I can show you the city a little"Chris proposed."By the way. Since the Brave Witches arrived to our world, I haven't heard much about them. What are they doing?"

"They enlisted to the Military High Schools too"Lynette replied.

"Oh, really? Why?"

"Commander Minna talked with commander Rall. She somehow convinced her about this".

"And what they enlisted for?"

"Commander Rall enlisted to Bundeswehr Heavy Nitrosium Troopers, flight lieutenant Pokryshkin is in Spetznaz now, flying officer Krupinski and flight sergeant Rosmann are in Luftwaffe helicopter squadron now, pilot officer Lemare became a Field Medic, flight sergeant Katajainen, like captain Barkhorn, became a tank commander, but not whole brigade commander, pilot officer Naoe enlisted as a loader in tank, flight sergeant Sadako is in infantry, the same as sergeant Karibuchi"Lynette presented the Brave Witches enlist to MHSs.

"Why does Rosman and Krupinski enlisted to helicopter squadron?"he asked.

"Krupinski because she was amazed by the helicopters, and Rosman, because she want to have an eye for her. Krupinski is a little crazy"the Witch explained.

"Oh. Okay. Let's continue our trip now".

"You never been in London?"

"Now. I and James were born in Portsmouth. But I read a lot about the city. So I can tell you about some building not existing in your world".

Lynette nodded and together, they went for a trip.

07:59

ORP _Cracow_

Hisako was loading a boxes with humanitarian help on the back of the medical Humvee. Shirley was with her as well.

"Thanks that you helping me"Hisako said.

"No problem"the Liberion Witch replied.

She put another box filled with medicines on the back of car and clashed a sweat from her forehead.

"By the way, where do we have to take this?"Shirley asked.

"To the refugee camp in Whitechapel. You know, we have food, medicines and other such things"Hisako explained.

"That's why I hate war. It force many people to leave their homes and merchandise of whole life".

"I agree with you, Shirley. I always felt sorry for all those people who left their homes".

Hisako then loaded the last box on the back and closed the doors. Next, together with Shirley, they entered the cab. Hisako twisted the keys, and the engine started. Soon after, they were driving through London.

"Where did you learned driving?"Shirley asked.

"School gives special driving tests for every Second Year student. Of course, you can reject it, like Krystian did"the Japanese-Polish girl replied.

"Why?"

"He's afraid of sitting behind the wheel. I'm not".

Shirley nodded. Then, she asked one more thing:

"About those refugees…What about your family?"

Hisako sighed and replied:

"Together with Krystian's parents, they fled to Edmonton, where our sisters are studying. From time to time I call Hotaru, to know how they're doing".

"And how is it?"

"Pretty nice. Dad found a job in supermarket, although it's not something he studied for. And mum, she's helping as a waiter in restaurant. Granny Chizuru is, of course, sitting in home".

"And what were your parents doing before the war?"

"When mum and dad arrived to Poland, dad became an bookkeeper in big company. Mum couldn't work, because she was pregnant then. After she born Hotaru, she worked as a doctor in Proszowice Hospital. It was just few years after the fall of communism in Poland, and still the country was rising up it's economy".

"And Christian's parents?"

"They worked in Traf, a cooperative of vegetable producers".

"Oh".

The next few minutes passed them without any talk. But soon, Shirley again asked:

"Tell me. What does your sister look like?"

"I though you saw her on the photos. When you slept in my room on the Carrier"Hisako replied.

Shirley palmed her face.

"Oh, I remember. It was that girl, looking like an older you?"she asked.

"Exactly"Hisako said and stopped the car"There it is".

The refugee camp was formed of some white tents with red crosses painted on them. Some people were walking between the tents, children were running around and soldiers in blue helmets were watching over all of this.

Hisako and Shirley exited the car and started to unload the cargo.

"Who are those guys?"Shirley asked, pointing at the soldier in blue helmet.

"They're soldiers of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Or Blue Helmets in short"Hisako replied with smile."They're taking care of refugees and civilians in warzones and trying to keep peace in places where it's needed".

Shirley nodded her head, as the mark that she agree, and the two continued to unload the boxes.

08:35

Northolt Air Force Base

De Gaul, Shinigami and Jäger Squadrons were about to land in Northolt Air Base. When they did it, the planes taxed on the runways and to the hangars. The planes stopped in the buildings and the pilots came out of them.

"Welcome to UK! Our unsinkable aircraft carrier!"Florian said.

"We know. Remember, that in our world, we stationed on this carrier"Sakamoto noticed.

"Oh, right"the boy replied.

Witches looked around the base. When they still stationed in Britannia, they once visited Northolk to train new squadron of Witches. But the look of the base now, was something different than it was before.

"How good to be there again"Erica stated.

"Yeah. But this time, we don't fight Neuroi"Perrine noticed.

Then, she noticed a poster on the hangar wall. She came up to this and looked at it. It presented a burning French flag with a red star on it, laying on the ground. The inscription was saying: _Burn the fake-France! Join the New Free France!_.

"What is it?"she asked Laura.

The girl came up to her and explained:

"Let's say, that now, there are two Frances".

"Two Frances?"Erica asked, standing next to them.

"Yup. When Chinese took Paris and French Army was evacuated, Chinese made a deal with French Communist and Socialist party. That's how, the French Social-Communist Republic was created as a Chinese satellite states".

"So uncool"Erica stated.

"Exactly. And Chinese are giving them all weapons they captured in invasion of France"Laura added.

"Well. So it seems like soon, we have to encounter those Communist French guys"Sakamoto said.

After she said that, all pilots started to take their bags from the planes and went towards the pilots living quarters.

08:47

London Harbor

Rall and Pokryshkin were walking through the London harbor in their new uniforms. Since they joined the Military High Schools, they had to wear those combat uniforms. At the beginning, they felt strange in them, but after a short time they get used to them.

"It's almost three weeks since we landed there. It passed really quick"Pokryshkin said.

"True. I hope that we don't have to stay in this world for long. We still have Neuroi to defeat"Rall replied.

Aleksandra only nodded her head.

Then, they heard a sound of fog siren. They looked in it's direction and their jaws almost dropped from surprise.

There, in the harbor were four big ships. And not any ships. They were the _Iowa_ -class battleships, the most powerful battleships created by Liberion Navy. Witches also saw some soldiers and Military Highs students standing in the harbor and looking at the battleships. Some were even waving to them.

"Very impressing view, 'em I right?"the voice behind Witches asked.

The two turned to see an blue-haired girl with ponytail, dressed in Japanese Self-Defense Force uniform. They knew that she was named Kozue.

"Yeah, it's true that it's impressive. But what are those battleships doing here?"Rall replied.

"They have to help us with landing in Normandy"Kozue said"Maybe it's true that they were actually an museums, but when Hawaii fell under Chinese control, US Defense Department ordered to pull the ships back to service".

"But aren't they a little old for modern war?"Aleksandra asked.

"Eh. During the Cold War, _Iowa_ -class battleships went through many modifications, to counter Soviet Navy _Kirov_ -class cruisers".

"What modifications?"Rall asked.

"They were equipped with Phalanx CIWS system and Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles launchers. These ships saw both World War 2, Korean War, Vietnam and 1st Gulf War. Really good combat history".

Right then, they saw Linchov coming in their direction. When the boy was already next to them, he he quickened his pace, turned his gaze and passed them.

"What's wrong with him?"Rall asked.

"I don't know. He never acted like this"Kozue replied.

Pokryshkin then lifted her hand.

"I think it's because of me"she said.

"What are you talking about?"Kozue asked.

The Orussian Witch sighed and explained:

"Maybe we're short in this world, since I joined this whole Spetznaz, he's always evading me. When we're passing in the corridor, he does exactly the same thing".

Kozue only shook her head as a mark for "I can't be helped with this".

09:02

Light Bite Restaurant

Using the time they had, Anton and Crystal decided to make a little date for themselves. They were sitting in restaurant and eating a spaghetti brought for them by waiter.

"Can you tell when we had a date last time?"Crystal asked.

Anton threw up his arms.

"I don't know. Maybe a week before the Witches arrived"he said.

Crystal chuckled and said:

"You just invented a new time calculating style".

"What do you mean?"

The girl eaten another thread of spaghetti and explained:

"BWA-Before the Witches Arrived. Maybe we actually start counting time as AWA-After the Witches Arrived".

Anton laughed.

"But it'll be hard to do this now. Remember that we also have a Brave Witches there"he said.

The two laughed again.

"I knew that I find you two there"the familiar voice said.

The two turned to see a girl dressed in French Army uniform. She had long, wavy black hair and green-gray eyes. On her neck, she had an necklace with red ruby and in her ears she had two earrings decorated with green diamonds.

After seeing her, Crystal immediately turned her gaze.

"Hi, Agustine"Crystal said with disgust.

"Hey, what is t? Aren't you happy to see me?"Agustine asked.

She came up to Crystal and wrapped her hand over her neck. Crystal immediately shook her hand off.

"I told you. Everything is over between us"she said.

"Ohhh. I know you're lying"Agustine said in sexy voice.

"You know that I'm sitting right here?"Anton said.

Agustine turned and looked at him with disgust.

"Shut up. I didn't asked you for comment"Agustine shot back to him.

Anton only growled.

Then, Maleroshka entered the restaurant. He noticed what is going on and came up to the three.

"Hey, you. Leave them alone"the boy ordered.

Agustine looked at him and snorted at him.

"Or else, what will you do to me?"she asked with no respect.

"Or else, me and my friends will take care of you"he replied.

"What friends?"

"This friends".

Maleroshka pointed behind him. Agustine looked there, and saw four other people. First of them was a boy with short brown hair and a little braid and blue eyes. He was dressed in Spanish Armed Forces uniform.

Two next were girls, more precisely twins. They had also wavy long black hair and green eyes. Both were wearing Portuguese Army Uniform.

And the fourth was also girl, but with dark brown hair and dark gray eyes. She was wearing an Dutch Army Uniform.

Seeing them, Agustine had to give up.

"Okay. You won this time"she said.

After that, she turned and walked away.

"Thanks, guys. And Maleroshka. I didn't knew that you know Javier, Carlotta, Camila and Nora"Anton said.

"Hehe. Fun fact. I met them for the first time in _Drakensang Online_ "Maleroshka admitted.

"This web MMO RPG game?"Crystal wanted to make sure.

"Yup. We were playing together on every weekend. We all had different character classes, but we were making good team"Javier said.

"And who would guess that we met in real life"Camila added.

Crystal and Anton only nodded their heads.

"By the way, who was she?"Nora asked.

Crystal only sighed and replied:

"It was my…ex-girlfriend".

Everyone, except of Anton widened their eyes. They knew Crystal from some time, but they never suspected her of being homosexual.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. How is that possible? I though you're interested only in guys!"Javier exclaimed.

Then she blushed and said:

"You know. There was a time when I was interested in girls. But I met Anton and changed my mind".

Others just nodded their heads as a sign of agreement.

"Okay. Let's stop this subject and talk about other things"Carlotta suggested.

As she said that, everyone focused on talking about some other things.

09:34

London KFC

Lynette and Chris decided to do a little break in their trip around London. They took an table in London KFC and eat something. They ordered some chips and hamburgers and started to eat.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep after something like that"Lynette said biting an hamburger.

"Nah. It won't be so bad. I'm eating fast food almost everyday and I can handle this"Chris stated.

"Maybe because you're get used to this?"the Witch proposed.

"Maybe"the boy replied.

Chris then looked at her. There was still one though in his head:

" _Maybe I should tell her now? I won't be able to hide it for so long_ ".

In addition to saying to Lynn what he wanted to say, Chris stood up.

"I must go to the toilet. Be right back"he said.

"Okay"Lynette replied.

Chris then went to the toilet. He entered and stood in front of a mirror. He took off his helmet and put it on the ground.

"Okay. Today, you'll say this to her. And there's no step back. Understood?"he quietly said to himself.

Once he said that, he put his helmet back and headed back to the doors.

But before he could do this, he heard a voice:

"Okay. Once the distraction will be done, we will do our part of plan, Chen. Understood?"

"Of course, colonel"second voice replied.

Chris right then noticed two pairs of boots in one of cabins. He came a little closer. But then, the doors opened to reveal two Asian men. They closed the doors and then noticed Chris.

By a few seconds, there was an silence. No one was brave enough to say anything. Finally, one of the Asians said:

"We…We can explain this".

"No. There is no need of this"Chris said.

"Really?"seconds man asked.

"Yeah. I just entered there. I don't mind what was happening there between you"he replied.

"Okay then. Good bye, officer"the first man said and they both exited the toilet.

Once this happened, Chris rushed out of the toiled and quickly sat down in front of Lynette. The Witch, a little surprised by this sudden event, pondered a little.

"Something's happened?"she asked.

"I just heard two Chinese talking about some distraction and their part of plan in the toilet"Chris replied with one breath.

"Wait, what?"Lynette asked, putting down the hamburger.

"I don't know. But I'm sure that it's not anything cool".

As he said that, their talk was cut off by an air raid siren.

"You think that this is the distraction?"Lynette asked.

"I think so"Chris replied"We need to find James".

The Britannian Witch nodded. They quickly paid for their meal and exited to look for James. They found him few minutes later, when he was directing the evacuation.

"Everybody to the underground! This is not a drill!"he said.

The two approached him and said:

"James! We need to tell you something!"

"It's not the best time, Chris. We need to get hid. There are bombers and fighters. We don't have much time"James replied.

"But…"Lynette tried to add something.

But James cut her off:

"No discussion! You tell me later! Now, let's go to the underground".

After these words, he just went to the underground. Chris and Lynette had no other choice than to follow him.

09:44

Northolt Air Base

The air sirens tore the air as pilots were rushing towards their planes to put on the fight on incoming planes.

"This day is going to be more and more fun"Henri said as he checked his aircraft instruments.

"I hope everyone in London will be alright"Laura said.

"Easy. The evacuation went good and everyone is hidden in the subway"Florian replied.

Then, the air controller voice sounded in the communicators:

"Enemy number consists of around 20 bombers and 80 fighters! All aircraft scramble and intercept immediately!"

The pilots put their helmets and closed the canopies. Then, taxied on the runway to scramble.

"Around 100 bogeys. It's gonna be an hard fight"Charles said.

"Question. How many aircraft we can put on fight?"Perrine questioned.

"With our squadrons? Around 32"Misaka replied.

Perrine only shook her head. It was only thing she managed to do, because all aircraft started to lift up into the air. After a short time, everyone was flying.

"Okay. Let's do it"Sakamoto said.

The aircraft turned and flew towards the enemy.

Few minutes later…

The planes have passed over the Thames River and now had a visual on the enemy formation.

"This is AWACS Sky Keeper. We identified enemy bombers as Tu-95 Bear and B-52 Stratofortress. For the fighters, we have MiG-29s, J-10s, J-14s, F-16s and Su-30s. Take them all out of the sky"Sky Keeper said.

"Copy that, Sky Keeper"Sakamoto replied.

"Don't let them to destroy London. I have sentimental memories about it"the AWACS added.

"Wait, Sky Keeper. Aren't you Japanese?"Erica asked.

"Yeas, I'm. But I was born and spent all of childhood in London before I joined JSDF High School. Now, to the fight".

"As you wish"Saddam said.

Then, he got an missile warning. He quickly dropped flares and flew up. Missiles hit the flares and exploded.

"Alright. Fire!"Charles ordered.

Both sides fired their missiles, both scoring some kills. Then, they collided with themselves.

Markus sat on F-16s tail and fired his gun. The bullets flew straight through the back stabilizer and shredded it into little pieces. Then, Luca flew from up and fired his gun at the wing, breaking it off the aircraft.

"Hell yeah, get wrecked!"Luca exclaimed.

"One down, 99 more to go"Florian noticed.

Erica and Sakamoto fired their missiles at J-10 destroying it. Perrine made a Barrel Roll to evade Chinese missile, then flew up and behind him. She then fired her gun and scored a gun kill.

"What about the bombers?"Perrine asked AWACS.

"Tu-95s eliminated intercepting party"Sky Keeper reported.

"By themselves? But how?"the Gallian Witch asked in disbelief.

"Bears are equipped in anti-air guns on it's tail. That's how"the AWACS explained.

Perrine only nodded as she turned towards the bombers. When she get there, she saw a carpet bombing formation ready to open the bomb bay.

But before they could do this, Perrine used her Thunder ability, which somehow permeated through the plexiglass of her cockpit. The lightnings flew straight towards the bombers, hitting five of them and making their bombs explode. The burning wrecks of the bombers started to fall down, while other members of De Gaull Squadron joined her.

"How'd you done that?"Saddam asked.

"It's my ability. But honestly, I hate using it"Perrine replied.

"Why?"Janette asked"Not that I'm interested".

"It really messes up my hair".

After hearing that, Janette laughed out loud.

"But how it came through the plexiglass?"Laura asked.

"I don't know. I discovered it on one training"Perrine explained.

"Okay, stop this. Let's finish the rest of bombers"Charles said.

He then noticed one thing.

"Where's Henri?"

"There"Laura replied, nodding her plane to the left.

Charles looked in this direction to see Henri's Raffale already firing it's gun at B-52. When he stroke the upper part of the bomber with the gun, he turned under it. There, he fired an Magic 2 missile straight into the bomb bay. The missile hit, causing the aircraft to explode, while Henri just flew to another bomber.

"Yeah. Let's just get to the work"Charles summed.

Meanwhile, Jäger Squadron was taking care of other fighters.

"This is Sky Keeper to Jäger 1. We detecting enemy Ace in the area. The Yellow Eleven"AWACS communicated to Florian.

"Copy that. I'll take care of him"the boy replied.

He turned and flew towards the enemy ace. Soon, he got visual on him and saw an F-16 with yellow 11 on it's tail. What was more interesting, the plane was still in paintings of Pakistani Air Force and had it's roundel and Pakistani crescent and stars. The only added thing was Chinese roundel under it's number.

"Heh. It's first time I see plane stolen by Chinese, but still having it's previous paintings"Florian stated.

"I have his files"Sky Keeper communicated"Chin Zuan Long. He's Uighur. He always liked to put the symbols of Islam on his plane. And was taking only aircraft hijacked from Islamic states. He already flew Iranian F-14, Saudi F-15 and Chinese J-11 with added Islam crescent. Just two days ago he changed his plane to Pakistani F-16. What most interesting, he never took the hijacked aircraft roundel off of it".

"Well. It's time to take this Islamist out of the sky. Fox 2!"

After he said that, he fired an IRIS-T missile. However, the enemy Ace dropped flares and the missile hit it. But Florian sat on his tail, firing his Mauser BK-27.

"Not so fast"the Yellow Eleven said.

He made an Immelman Turn to land on Florian's tail. He then fired an AIM-120 at the Typhoon. The missile didn't hit, but it exploded right under it.

"Oh-oh. It didn't went as easy as it should"Florian said to himself.

But then, the F-16 was struck by a gun fire from over him. The Falcon broke off from him. Then, Florian was joined by Erica.

"You're okay?"she asked.

"Yeah. I though that it'll be easier"Florian granted.

"The same was over Argentina"the Karlsland Witch reminded.

Florian had to admin right to her. It was actually the second time Erica saved him. First time was over Argentina, when they were establishing the air superiority over the country. Florian challenged another enemy Ace, the Purple Hundred Four. At first, Florian was wining, but then the Ace fooled him and almost shoot him down. But then, Erica showed up and used her Sturm that made the Ace lose control over the plane, while Erica shot him down.

"Sometimes I think about giving the command to you"he stated.

"Oh, you don't…"she tried to say.

But Florian cut her off:

"But I don't wanna do it".

Erica just sighed as she landed behind the Yellow Eleven and fired her's gun at him. The bullets flew through the back stabilizer and shredded it into pieces. The plane started to lower it's nose as it continued to go down.

"You can finish him, if you want Jetfire"Erica said to Florian, using his nickname.

"Yes, I want, Skydive"Florian replied, using her's.

As it turned out lately, the Jäger Squadron members were big fans of Aerialbots main squad from Transformers and had nicknames in form of their names. So, the Florian was Jetfire, Markus was Air Raid and Luca had nickname Breakaway. The dead member of the squadron, Konrad, had nickname Silverbolt. When Erica joined the squadron, the boys had to choose nickname for her. And when noticed that she liked to attack enemies from the top, they nicknamed Erica Skydive.

The boy then flew right behind the F-16 and fired his gun. The Ace ejected, just before the bullets pierced the fuel tank of the aircraft.

"Hah. At least I could do this, Skydive"he said.

In the meantime…

Underground

Chris and Lynette were sitting under the wall in underground station, while James and others were taking care of the civilians goods.

"I just wanted to warn him"Chris said.

"Eh. At least you tried, right?"Lynn replied.

Chris only nodded.

Right then, the whole station was shaken by explosion on the ground. Some people hugged each other more, while others just started to look around the station.

"If it continues like that, those wrecks finally will just break through the ceiling all the way here"someone said.

"No, this will not happen. Our pilots will take care of this"some Swiss soldiers tried to calm everyone down.

But it was welcomed with inconsistent shouts. Even more that they expected.

While this was happening, Chris was looking around. And finally, his sight stopped on two specific persons.

The two Chinese he saw in the toiled back in KFC.

He watched as the two make their way through the mob on the station, didn't bothered by anyone. Everyone was just to busy with arguing with soldiers.

The two jumped off the station, on the tracks and ran into the tunnel.

"You saw that?"Lynette asked.

"Yes"Chris replied and stood up"Let's go".

He wanted to go after them, but Lynette stopped him.

"What are you doing?"she asked.

"We'll do it on our own. Whatever they're planning, we need to stop them"the boy simply replied.

And he went after the two Chinese. Lynette had no other choice than to follow him. They jumped out of the station and entered the tunnel.

Back over London…

Sakamoto just scored another kill on enemy MiG-29, when AWACS cam on radio:

"Enemy threat is being more and more reduced. Only 69 enemies left. Continue it like that".

"You got it"Kotaro replied.

"Japanese in London. It's even more strange today than it would be during World War 2"one of British pilots said.

Then, an J-14 landed on his tail and fired it's gun on him. The bullets lightly struck it's tail, but not causing big damage.

"Can someone help me with him?"the pilot asked.

"As you wish!"Etsuko said.

Her plane dropped behind the J-14 and started to overwhelm it with her own gun. The wing of J-14 changed into pile of junk, which caused the plane to spin falling.

"Thanks, lady"the pilot said.

"No problem"Etsuko replied.

Then another Chinese J-10 fired missiles, destroying an Hungarian JAS 39 Gripen. The missiles hit the planes and destroyed them. Fortunately, pilots managed to bail out.

J-10 pilot didn't noticed Osamu's F-10 flying at him from the left. Osamu fired his gun. Bullets pierced through the plexiglass and parts of pilot's head shattered all around the cockpit of the aircraft.

While it was falling, Osamu noticed the SPA inscription on the aircraft's wing.

"We got PLA High School here"he communicated.

The SPA inscription was short for 'School Purpose Aircraft', the international sign of aircraft membership to Military High School.

But of course, those aircraft could be also used as battle force.

"So finally, we encounter some high schoolers from Chinese"Shinzo stated.

"You didn't encountered them earlier?"Sakamoto asked, shooting down MiG-29.

"By almost whole war we were fighting only Regular Army. PLA High Schools was mostly standing on the back"Misaka explained.

Sakamoto only nodded and continued fighting. She fired missiles at one of bombers, destroying the B-52 tail and aircraft started to fall down.

"Enemy threat neutralized to 45%. Half of bombers are down. Keep going like that"Sky Keeper said. But then, he got something new on radar"Wait a minute. I have some signals"he checked one more time to be sure"We've got UAVs incoming from France! They have escort of French Commune fighters!"

"Are those container launched UAVs?"Perrine asked.

"No. It's MQ-101"Sky Keeper replied.

Then, everyone just became speechless. Those drones shouldn't be here.

"Can you check one more time, please?"Charles asked.

"I don't have to. I'm 100% sure. It's them"Sky Keeper confirmed.

"It's not gonna be a night walk on the beach anymore"Florian stated.

First UAVs already appeared on the horizon, with accompaniment of French Commune Mirage 2000s and J-10s.

"Okay, let's do this!"Erica said.

Both sides fired it's missiles at each other, scoring few kills. Drones mixed with Coalition planes and started to fire their guns at them, scoring some kills.

"Those MQ-101 are really good"Perrine said.

"And the most interesting is that they shouldn't be here"Markus noticed.

"Why?"Erica questioned.

"Because we though that we detonated them when we left France"Luca replied.

He sat on the tail of MQ-101 and fired his gun. The UAV started to burn while falling down. And Luca was that lucky, that the drone hit French Commune Mirage 2000, which then hit another MQ-101.

"Woo-hoo! Triple kill!"Luca exclaimed.

"Breakaway, on your left!"Markus said.

Luca looked left and noticed Mirage 2000. He then hit the brakes and watched as Mirage 2000 passes him. When this happened, Luca fired his missile that chased the plane, until it disappeared in ball of fire.

"Fourfold kill!"he summed.

Misaka lined up with a Tu-95 bomber. She was evading it's tail turrets fire and when the good moment came, she fired her missile. The missile hit one of the engines on the right wing. She then fired her gun at the back stabilizer, which caused the plane to turn right.

The bomber then hit another Tu-95, which caused both their cargo to explode. The explosion also struck the underbelly of the B-52 which was flying a little over the Bear. Parts of Tu-95 pierced through the bomber bay doors and bombs exploded.

Rest of the bombers, seeing what just happened, turned back and started to leave the London airspace.

"Wow, Misaka, how'd you did that?"Laura asked.

"I just tried to destroy one of them. The rest was just an accident"Misaka replied.

"Did the rest of those bombers dropped the cargo?"Kotaro asked.

"No. From what I see, they just frightened and are now flying away as far as they can"Florian joked.

"Good. They were heading to our facility in upper London. There's a secret project created in cooperating between United States, Great Britain, Germany, Poland and Saudi Arabia"Sky keeper informed.

"And if you don't mind me asking. What kind of secret project is this?"Erica asked.

"If I tell you, this won't be a secret anymore"the AWACS replied.

Erica though for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah, it makes sense"she granted.

She then fired missile that hit and destroyed another UAV.

With Chris and Lynette…

Underground

Thanks to that the all trains were stopped because of the battle, the two could easily walk on the tracks, following the Chinese. On the way, they noticed the two men finding some bags laying next to the tracks. Hid behind the bend, Chris and Lynette saw as two Chinese opens the bags and take two QBZ-95 assault riffle with some magazines and additions. After this happened, the two continued their walk, followed by British soldiers.

"I knew that those two are not planning anything nice"Chris said.

"Yeah. But where are they going? How far are we from the station we been on?"Lynette replied with question.

"I don't know. But I fell like it would be already 4, maybe 4.5 kilometers. I can't tell you really clearly".

Then, Lynette hooked her leg on one of rail sill, making a sound of knocking.

"I heard something"said the voice in front of the tunnel.

"Get down!"Chris quickly ordered.

The two quickly laid down on the tracks. They did it right before the flashlight directed in their direction. It was over them by next few seconds, before second voice said:

"You probably overheard. Let's go. Others are probably waiting".

"Yeah. Maybe you're right".

The light then turned away and Lynette and Chris stood up again.

"That was close"the Witch stated.

"Yup. Better be more careful now"the boy replied.

After that, they continued to follow them. During the walk, Lynette turned to Chris:

"Listen. You seemed a little stressed in the restaurant".

"No. I was okay. Why do you think like this?"Chris replied.

"Cause you was sweating".

"It was because there was hot".

"No. there was actually really cold there".

Chris sighed.

"Okay. It was because…"

Before he ended, they both saw a light, coming from behind the next turn. They ran in this direction and once they exited the turn, Chris and Lynette saw that the light was coming out of an tunnel in the wall and tracks, turning in it.

"Strange. There shouldn't be any tunnel"Chris said.

"So? What we gonna do now?"Lynette asked.

"Of course, we go there".

And with these words, they entered into the tunnel. It was not long, but this, what they found on it's end, just stunned them.

"Oh, hell"Chris whispered.

In front of him and Lynette was a huge underground chamber, filled with around 20 Chinese, all welding riffles. In it's middle, they could see an old subway car. Some Chinese were entering the car and making something inside.

Chris and Lynette quickly hid behind some rubble next to the entrance.

"What is this place?"Lynette asked.

"I don't know. Maybe some old garage or…"Chris replied.

"Or station?"Lynette ended, pointing over her head.

Chris looked up and saw an plate with inscription "THE PARLIAMENT STATION".

"Oh. So it seems like this is what some politicians were using to get to the parliament. But what are they doing here?"Chris asked himself.

As per his words, one of Chinese, probably commander, said:

"Okay, let's say this again. We have to detonate this bomb here, under the parliament, to bring this all down. Thanks to this, Coalition on the Isles will be totally distracted and we'll be able to start another invasion".

"They want to destroy the parliament?"Lynette said in disbelief.

"It seems like it. We need to contact James"Chris stated.

Then, Chris saw in his head this what was to happen. He saw the exploding bomb and how the ground starts to fell apart under the parliament.

"Like in _Sherlock_ "he whispered.

He turned on his radio and tried to contact James. But only thing he could hear was only static.

"Please, James. Answer".

In the meantime…

London airspace

The Spanish Eurofighter been hit by another series from MiG-29 gun. Next, Chinese aircraft fired missile, that ended the life of Spanish pilot.

But the Fulcrum's pilot haven't noticed Shinzo's F-10 as it dropped behind him. A short series from the Japanese plane gun and MiG was changed into the burning pieces.

"All aircraft and drones confirmed down. Great job everyone"Sky Keeper said.

"Good. Tell everyone that they can exit from the hideouts"Sakamoto ordered.

"Copy that. And, circle a little more, just in case they try to bring something again"Sky Keeper replied.

"On you order"Sakamoto said.

On the ground…

Everyone who entered the underground to protect themselves from the air raid already started to exiting. Although there was a lot of them, they were leaving the underground really fast.

James was one of soldiers directing this. When he counted that everyone left the underground, he decided to finally listen to Chris.

"Okay, what you wanted to tell me?"he asked his brother.

But then, James noticed that Chris was nowhere around here.

"Hey, where's Chris?"James asked himself.

Then, he heard static in his radio. He took it and asked:

"Who's there?"

"James? It's me, Chris"Chris's voice replied.

James sighed in relief.

"Chris, where are you and Lynette?".

After this, he heard a little nervous laugh.

"You don't like it. We're under the parliament"Chris replied.

Then, the worry left her place and was replaced by anger.

"What?! What are you doing there?!"the furious British exclaimed.

"Don't be angry. I can explain"Chris provided.

"I'm all ears".

"Remember this what I wanted to say you? In the KFC, where I was with Lynn, I overheard an talk between two Chinese. They were talking about some distraction, which I believe was this air attack. When we were in the underground, they used this little mess and entered the tunnel. We followed them and soon, they found two bags in which riffles were. Now, were in underground chamber filled with Chinese troops and trying to detonate a bomb under the building, to collapse it".

James just became speechless. Now, the anger was replaced with even bigger worry and fear.

"Wait there! I'm coming!"he shouted to the radio.

He turned it off and turned to Ellen and Eevi standing few meters away.

"Girls! I need your help!"James said, stopping next to the two.

"What do you need?"Eevi asked.

"Chris and Lynette are just trying to stop some Chinese terrorists from destroying the parliament! We need to help them!"

"Why you didn't spoke sooner?"Ellen asked"Let's move!"

"I'm going with you!"Yoshika said, stopping next to the three.

"Why?"James asked her.

"Lynn is my friend. And I can't left her"the Fusoan Witch explained.

James and two Finnish girls only nodded. They took their weapons, returned to the underground and directed towards the parliament.

Back with Chris and Lynette…

"Okay, everything's done"the boy said.

"So what are we gonna do now?"Lynette asked.

"Maybe we'll just slowly withdrew from here"Chris proposed.

But the fate didn't gave them such opportunity and they heard one of Chinese saying:

"There's Coalition here! Fire!"

The wave of bullets then hit the rubble. Chris and Lynette quickly laid down behind the pile to don't be hit.

"What do we do NOW?!"Lynn shouted.

"Try to survive!"Chris shouted back.

He then lifted his L85 over the pile of rubble and pressed the trigger, sending a short series into the Chinese. Because he was laying down, he didn't saw as the bullets hit two Chinese troops and the red mist appeared over their heads.

"Your turn"he said to Lynette.

The Witch leaned a little and looked through her riffle scope. She aimed at another Chinese and pulled the trigger. Next, she saw as his head just disappear. She then laid down again.

"This is gonna take a while"the Britannian Witch stated.

"Hey, can't you use you Ballistic Stabilization or your second power to to somehow take care of all of them?"Chris asked.

"Let me see".

She leaned again and used her Grant Magic Power. She pulled the trigger and bullet flew from the barrel, leaving an blue trace behind it. The bullet pierced through the body of four Chinese, before hitting the wall behind them.

"Nice shot. Only 12 left"Chris notted.

"I know"Lynette replied, dodging the bullet that flew over her head"Do you have any grenades?"

"No. As for today, I left every single of them at home"he replied.

"Se t up the bomb! Quick!"Chinese commander ordered.

Chris and Lynette leaned a little and saw an soldier running into the subway car.

"Damn it, we need to do this quick!"Chris exclaimed.

He then stood up and immediately pulled the trigger. His bullets flew through around five Chinese and Chris laid down again.

"Okay, on my mark. 3. 2. 1. Now!"Chris exclaimed.

They both stood up and fired at the remaining Chinese. In few seconds, the remaining Chinese troops fell on the ground, dead. After this, Chris took his gun from the holster and with Lynette they went to the subway car. Inside, they saw the last Chinese. Before he could took his QBZ-95, the hole after shot from Chris's gun appeared between his eyes.

"Let's now find this bomb"Chris said, putting the gun back to holster.

They didn't had to look for long, because they found the bomb mounted into the floor of the subway car. The timer was showing 3:19 and was going down.

"That didn't took long"Lynette stated"How do we take care of this?"

"Let me see"Chris said.

He then knelt next to the bomb. He looked at it from all directions and stated one thing.

"We don't disarm it".

"What?"Lynette asked in fear.

"This bomb is made of titanium. Probably all cables are inside, we won't open it with knives. And if we even be able to open it with usage of guns, we probably detonate around 35 kilograms of explosives"he explained.

Lynette was surprised by his knowledge.

"How'd you know this everything?"she asked.

"I was taking part in after class activities about bomb disarming. It was mainly for sappers, but I was going there too".

"So what we do with this?"

Chris looked around and his eyes landed on the doors to driver's cabin.

"Let's see if this thing is still ready to ride"he said.

He came up to the doors and opened them with one solid kick. He checked some things on the main panel and lifted the the fist in triumphal gesture.

"There's still some fuel. Can you help me, Lynn?"Chris turned to Lynette.

"What are you planing?"she asked him.

"I'm going to take this thing as far from the parliament as I can. As WE can"Chris replied, putting press on 'we'.

Lynette had no other choice but to agree. She switched some switches, according to Chris's orders, and managed to activate the car.

"Good. Now, take this out of here"he said.

The subway car started to drive back and soon, they were going through the tunnel.

Later…

After they drove few kilometers, the car started to getting slow, until it finally stopped. Chris tried to turn it on again, but couldn't. Then he looked at fuel level and noticed the problem.

"We're out of fuel"he said.

"Then maybe better let's go on foot"Lynette proposed.

"At least, we done everything we could".

He looked at the bomb again and saw that timer is showing 1:56 seconds. The two quickly started to run as fast as they could. But after they run few meters, Chris stopped. Then, he started coughing.

"Chris, what's happening?"worried Lynette asked.

"Why now?"Chris asked himself.

"Do you have your medicines?"

"Yes. But I have them in the back pocked. Can you help?"

Lynette then stood behind Chris and started to look for the medicines. She finally found it, but when she pulled them out, as for unlucky, they fell on the ground. Lynette bent down and took the package and gave it to Chris. The boy quickly opened it and swallowed the pill, wincing.

"I forgot how bitter are they without water"Chris stated.

"Let's go now"Lynette said.

But she then felt Chris's hand grabbing her arm.

"No. We lost too much time, Lynn. We won't escape the explosion radius"he said.

"You want to stay here? We can't! W maybe…"

"It's too late!"Chris exclaimed as loud as he could.

Lynette then looked at him. She saw nothing more than sadness in his eyes. He then sighed.

"Lynn. I wanted to tell you something. At least, before we landed here"Chris said.

"What?"  
"Lynn. I…This started then when I saw you on our ship. I even tried to tell you by this time before America Libre. I was afraid that you'll reject. And because this wouldn't work"he then breathed in"Lynn. I love you".

The silence filled the air. The only sound they could hear was the bomb timer.

"Eh. I knew that…"Chris didn't ended.

Before he orientated, Lynette kissed him. Chris was totally confused by what just happened. But he reciprocated the kiss. Through next few seconds, they even forgot about the bomb.

Finally, they stopped and looked in their eyes.

"Chris. Me too…"

And the bomb exploded.

Around 2 kilometers away…

James, Ellen, Eevi and Yoshika continued their way towards the Chris and Lynette location, when they heard and explosion.

"Oh no"James said.

Before they even could orientate, they saw a flash of white-orange light behind the turn. Few seconds later, they felt a heat from fire.

"Incoming!"James announced.

Then, Yoshika stood in front of them, activating her shield. She did it right at time, because not soon, the giant wave of fire hit the shield and splitted up in two and bypassed them. Three soldiers, hidden behind Yoshika waited until the fire just disappear.

When this happened, Yoshika deactivated her shield and everyone looked at the blackened tunnel. Before someone could say anything, James rushed forward.

"Hey, wait for us!"Yoshika said as she, Ellen and Eevi rushed with him.

"Chris!"James shouted as he continued to run.

Back over London…

Shinigami, De Gaul and Jäger squadrons patrolled the city airspace. Suddenly, they saw a giant pile of fire belching from the street next to the parliament.

"Wow, have you seen that?!"Markus exclaimed.

"Of course we did. But what the hell was that?"Janette replied.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it's nothing nice"Sakamoto stated"Let's get back to base. Maybe there we will get some answers".

With these words, all aircraft turned and returned to base.

Two days later…

August 4, 2022

15:28

London Bridge Hospital, Room 23

Chris started to slowly open his eyes. He tried to move his left hand, but he immediately felt an piercing pain. He tried to move right, but with the same effect. When this didn't worked out, he just fully opened his eyes and looked around. He saw that he's in hospital's room and is lying on hospital bed. Next to his bed were drip and some medical devices.

" _So. I just hope that I still have my legs_ "he though.

Then, the doors opened and James appeared in them. He looked at Chris and their eyes met. James started to shaking until he suddenly rushed towards Chris and hugged him.

"Damn it, Chris. Never do it to me anymore, understood?"James whispered with care in voice.

Then, Chris felt as his clothes starts to get wet on his arm. And felt something more than just tears of his brother.

"Nice…that you're…here. But I…can't…breath. And it…hurts!"Chris said.

James immediately stopped. He took a chair and sat next to the bed.

"It's all my fault. If I listened to you then, this wouldn't even happen"James said.

"It's not your fault. It was me who wanted to play a hero"Chris replied.

"No. I'm the one responsible for this. I should listen to you".

Chris only waved his hand. Again felling the pain.

"Let's just don't talk about it. How long I was sleeping?"Chris asked.

"Two days"James replied"Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah. I remember tracking two Chinese terrorists, firefight with them and the last thing I remember is a blue light"Chris replied.

"Blue light? Maybe this light had something to do with that you and Lynette didn't been burned down".

Chris then reminded something.

"What bout Lynn?!"he exclaimed.

"Easy, she's alright. Yoshika was with me when we found you and managed to heal her. She also tried to heal you, she was already tired after healing Lynette. That's how you landed here"James explained.

The boy only sighed with relief.

"At least I got something new on my wound count. Remember what you was always telling me? 'Wounds are like medal for soldier'"he said.

"Yeah. But remember that I took it from _The Penguins of Madagascar_ "James replied.

And the two laughed.

Then, the doors opened again and another person walked through them. It was a girl, around 23 years old, with ginger hair tied in a ponytail and had the brown eyes, like the two. She was dressed in white shirt under the dark blue jacket, the knee-long skirt with the same color and black tights.

She came up to Chris and hugged him.

"I'm so happy you're okay, little brother. You can walk? Can you even speak?"she asked.

"Yes I can, Bella. Now stop! It hurts!"Chris replied.

Bella immediately stopped hugging him, took another chair and turned to James.

"Sorry that I'm late. You know, Glasgow is far from London. Besides, there were traffic jams. But when you called and told me what happened, I sat into car and driven here as fast as I could"Bella summarized."I also scored a lot of tickets for exceeding the speed limit".

"You don't have to apologize. You came here at better time than expected"James replied"Besides, I have another good news for you, Chris".

Chris then became a little puzzled.

"What do you mean by this?"both Chris and Bella asked.

"Queen Elizabeth learned about who stopped the Chinese from blowing the parliament into pieces. She want's to award you with the Victoria's Cross for this"James explained.

Chris then felt as his hands starts to shake. He never expected to get awarded like this. And from the queen herself.

The doors opened again and Lynette stepped into room. She noticed Bella and James and became nervous.

"I'm sorry. I didn't knew that someone's here"she said.

"Don't worry. We were just leaving"James said.

Bella looked at him with surprise. Before she could even resist, the two left Lynette and Chris alone.

"How are you?"Chris asked her.

"Good. And who was she?"Lynette asked pointing at the doors.

"It was our older sister Bella. She's actually our father daughter from his first marriage. She's at lawyer studies in Glasgow"Chris explained.

"Oh. She looked like she didn't wanted to leave"the Witch noticed.

"She's a little overprotective, that's all"then, one thing went on his mind"But how we survived?"

"Well. When you kissed me, my shield activated somehow. It didn't protected us in 100%, but enough to only get wounded"she explained.

Then, Lynette then hung her head and said:

"Listen…Is this what you told me in the underground…That you love me…it was true?"

Chris then felt as his face becomes red.

"Yes. It was true. I loved you then on _London_. That's why I wanted to ask you a question"he replied"Lynn. You want to be my girlfriend?"

In response, Lynette rapped her hands around Chris's neck and kissed him again. At the same time, James and Bella opened the doors, but when saw what was happening, they quickly left the room.

In the meantime, Chris and Lynette continued the kissing by next 5 minutes.

XXX

 **And another chapter is finally ready. I'm really sorry. You know, school.  
**

Lynette: Hi.

 **Hi, Lynn. What do you need.**

Lynette: Nothing. I'm just happy that I finally said it to him.

Yoshika: We're happy too.

Strike Witches: True.

 **Good that you're all happy.**

Barkhorn: And what about this award ceremony?

 **It'll be in next chapter. Until then, see y'all!**

Strike Witches: See ya!

Chris: Bye!


	11. Chapter 10

**The unsuccessful attack on British Parliament carried by Chinese terrorists: done. Now, it's time for the one of most important battles of war: Operation: Night Torch.**

Crystal: That's right! I want to kick some French Commune asses!

Lina: I feel like I rusted. Give this fake-French!

 **Not so fast. First, we need some preparation phase.**

Kozue: Whatever you say.

 **Let's start then.**

Chapter 10

,,Operation: Night Torch"

August 9, 2022

07:33

London Harbor

James has called Lynette for a meeting in the London Harbor. He told her that he wanted her to meet some special persons arriving today from Australia. Once she arrived, James told her everything.

"More precisely, this person is Robert McFalton of Australian Defense Force High School"he said.

"Why is he so special?"Lynette asked.

"You know, he's the best sniper in the world. He once shot a Chinese from 5,7 kilometer right between the eyes. With him arrives his observer, Natasha Harris".

"I didn't knew that he's so good"Lynette summed.

"He surely is"James ended.

Then, the two heard a sound of helicopter rotors. They looked up and saw an Royal Australian Air Force MH-60R Seahawk. The helicopter landed and it's doors opened revealing two persons.

First of them was a boy with short dark brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in Australian Army uniform and some kind of red cape, decorated with green dots and yellow stripes. On his back, he had strapped AW50F sniper riffle and was carrying a bag in his left hand.

Second of them was a girl with arm reaching, blonde hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in the same uniform as a boy, but without the cape. In her hand she had F88 Austeyr assault riffle and also had a bag.

Once the two exited the chopper, McFalton turned and said to the pilot:

"Okay Gary! See ya another time!"

He closed the doors and the chopper lifted up again. After this, the two approached Lynette and James, Robert shook hands with James.

"Good to see you again, Hunter"the Australian boy said.

"The same here, Rob. And what's up, Nash?"James replied, turning to the girl.

"It's good with me too"Natasha replied.

Then, the two noticed Lynette standing behind James.

"And who's she?"Robert asked.

"Oh right. Please, meet Lynette Bishop, our school new sniper and Witch from different reality"James introduced Lynette.

"Well, hello…Wait, wait wait. Did you just said 'Witch from different reality'?"Robert asked in disbelief.

James only nodded his head, what was a mark for Lynette to activate her Familiar. When she did this, two Australians jumped back.

"And I though that nothing will surprise me anymore"Robert stated"What's going here?"

"Easy. I tell you everything"James provided.

With that, James started to explain everything to the two, not bypassing any important even and explaining everything about Witches and their world, with additional Lynette help.

When they ended, Robert and Natasha stood there with jaws dropped.

"Let me put this everything straight"Robert asked"In this different reality everything is pretty similar to our world, but there they're fighting evil alien race, during their World War 2?"

"Actually, Neuroi appeared on Earth throughout many ages. In Ancient Times, in Middle Ages and now they returned in 1914 and 1939"Lynette explained.

Robert only looked at Natasha and threw up his arms.

"Well. I think that I need to get used to working with them"he stated.

"Yes, you have. Besides, get ready. Today is an important day. You have to be at Buckingham Palace at 13am"James explained.

"Why?"Natasha asked.

"I say this: Lynette is also my brother's girlfriend from some time"James replied.

"Really?"surprised Robert asked.

"Yeah. They saved Westminster Palace from being destroyed by Chinese terrorists. Now, queen Elizabeth wants to award them for this".

Robert and Natasha nodded their heads in understanding and the four returned on HMS _London_.

13:00

Buckingham Palace

Chris and Lynette were standing in front of the throne room doors. With them were James, Bella and Yoshika. They waited on the mark for entering.

Although Chris was still wounded, much of his wounds already disappeared, thanks for Georgette's help. Now, he was both full of pride and stressed.

"Oh man, I never expected to be awarded from queen herself"he said.

"That's why we're proud of you, bro. Right, Bella?"James asked their sister.

"True. And you don't have to be worried. We'll be here all the time"she said.

Meanwhile, Lynette was improving her collar with Yoshika's help. When they ended, Lynette put on her service cap.

"How do I look?"the Britannian Witch asked.

"A way too good"Yoshiak replied and added"I'm really happy, Lynn. How do you feel?"

"Honestly?"Lynette replied, stretching back of her head"I'm a bit nervous. It's my first bigger ceremony. I never was awarded with anything".

"I know. But I'm sure it all will go good"Yoshika provided.

Then, they were approached by Helena. The Czech stood next to them and said:

"It's starting. Better get ready".

"Okay, thanks"Chris replied.

"Let's have this behind us"Lynette added.

The two took a deep breath and opened the throne room doors. Once they were inside, they were greeted by an applause of the crowd inside.

As they looked around, they noticed Strike and brave Witches members between the crowd, alongside with general adjutants of 4th School Fleet, together with James, Bella, Yoshika and Helena, which slipped in behind everyone's backs and after they quickly moved through the crowd, stood with the rest.

Chris and Lynette then walked through the middle of the throne room, where queen Elizabeth II herself was sitting, together with some members of Royal Family in form of prince Harry, together with his wife Meghan, prince Charles, prince William and princess Catherine.

The two stood in front of them, while queen stood up from the throne and approached them. Chris felt as he started sweating.

"For your heroic doings in the case of saving the British Parliament from destruction, I wanted to award you with Victoria Cross, the highest decoration of the British Empire"the queen said.

The Royal Guard then approached the queen with a box in his hands. The queen opened the box and took the Victoria Crosses, started to pinning them to their uniform at the same time saying:

"I appoint you as Sir Christopher Hunter and Lady Lynette Bishop".

When she ended, she signaled them to turn towards the crowd in the room. When they did it, whole crowd started to applaud for them. Chris improved his coral and with queen's order, the ceremony ended.

Outside the throne room, the general adjutants and Strike Witches surrounded Chris and Lynette.

"Well, buddy. I must say, you really impressed me"Maleroshka said.

"That's nothing"Chris replied, waving his hand.

"You're joking?! You just received a Sir title and the medal from queen!"Lina exclaimed.

"Exactly. You should be really proud of yourself"Pierre added, taking his officer cap off his head.

"I'm proud. But you know. I don't like to be in the center of attention".

Meanwhile, Witches were talking the same to Lynette.

"Well, it seems like you'll be having stories to tell when we get back"Shirley said, nudging Lynette's arm.

"Thank you. But I was really stressed"Lynette replied.

"Oh come on. I would give everything for such a medal. You really need to be proud"Barkhorn said.

"So. We're going celebrate this now?"Erica asked"Florian showed me some cool pub not so far from here. We can do a celebration there".

"Sounds good to me"Eila stated"And you, Sanya?"

The Orussian Witch only nodded their heads.

"So, you're gonna celebrate this now?"Saltarski asked.

"Yup"Hikari replied.

"Can we join?"Natalia questioned.

"Actually, why not? This is common ceremony for Chris and Lynn. Of course we can go together"Minna replied.

"Sweet"McFalton, who also was with adjutants, said.

Two groups, including Bella, Robert and Natasha, left the Palace and went to celebrate the awards of Chris and Lynette.

Later that day…

20:31

Near Grafton Arms pub

When the celebration ended, two groups quickly said goodbye to each other and everyone went to their School Carriers.

Saltarski, Hisako, Adrian, Helena, Natalia and Janos were walking down the street.

"Well. Now I only dream about some sleep"Natalia said.

"For the first time, I agree with you"Helena said to her.

"Actually, we all agree with you. We all need to be really rested for tomorrow and Thursday"Adrian said.

Others just nodded.

"Night Torch starts in the next two days. I just hope it'll work"Hisako said.

"Me too, Hiko"Janos added"if we ever want to see our homes again".

"Yeah. Also, I got a message from Vanda"Natalia said.

"What is she writing about?"Saltarski asked.

"About that we have to be in docks tomorrow at 10pm. She and Orłowski want to show us some new thing from command".

"Wonder what would that be"Hisako sighed.

Then, they continued the walk towards the Carrier.

August 10, 2022 (one day to Operation: Night Torch)

10:21

London Harbor

Barkhorn, Erica and Shirley were called to the harbor by Minna. The only thing she said to them was that 'they all have to be there, even if this what she want to show them is not for everyone'. So, they had to come there.

"What do you thing, what is it?"Erica asked.

"How do I have to know? I'm as curious as you are"Shirley replied.

"Let's just have this behind us."Barkhorn said.

They then approached the storehouse they were called to. Once they entered, they saw all other Witches, together with Maleroshka, Karl and Chris, already there.

Minna turned to them.

"Good that you're here"she said.

"Of course we are. What do you wanted to show to us?"Barkhorn asked.

"You can show!"Sakamoto said.

When she said that, the adjutants of the 4th School Fleet General Council dressed in their combat uniforms, including Adrian and Hisako, entered the magazine. But, some details were not good here. Some had different goggles, helmets and some their weapons had some changes. Even the uniforms looked different like made of different material.

"Wait, what is it all about?"Barkhorn asked.

The adjutants approached them and took off their goggles and helmets.

"Well. Let's just say, that this is a little upgrade to our schools, previously used only by Regular Soldiers"Michael said.

"Say hello to the Future Soldier Program"Anton said.

"Future Soldier Program?"Shirley asked, don't covering an interest in this.

"Yup. The program is targeted to create a new generation of soldier's personal equip, to increase soldiers capabilities on the battlefield. The whole system is integrated set of high-technology uniforms and equipment"Linchov replied.

"All of this is linked to an array of real-time and achieved battlefield resources"Crystal added"So in short, thanks to this, soldiers become more effective in fight".

"Awesome!"Shirley exclaimed.

"And every country have such a program?"Barkhorn asked.

Kozue nodded her head and explained:

"Only 20 world nations are participating in it".

"Which nations?"Erica asked.

"Australia has Land 125, Brazil had COBRA, Chile has Aguila, Canada has ISSP, Czech Republic has 21st Century Soldier, France has FELIN, Germany has Infanterist der Zukunft, izD in short, India has F-INSAS, Iran has Sarbaz Velayat, Italy has Soldato Futuro, Japan has Advanced Combat Infantry Equipment System, Mexico has Systema Xiucoatl, Norway has NORMANS, Poland has Project TYTAN, Russia has Ratnik, Singapore had ACMS, Switzerland has IMESS, Turkey has TEK-ER, United Kingdom has FIST and US has Future Force Warrior"Lina replied, naming all Future Soldier programs.

"And you?"Barkhorn asked, turning to Ellen, Eevi, Janos and Natalia.

"Meh. As we, Hungarians, won't have Future Soldier Program, we just lately made a deal with Poles. That's why I also have Project TYTAN"Janos replied.

"It's complicated. As Finland has equipment from both Western and Eastern Block countries, our command made a deal with Russia to take Ratnik from some reason"Ellen replied.

"But we can't complain"Eevi added.

"And Slovakia is really close to Czech, because you know, Czechoslovakia, that's why Czechs gave their Future Soldier equipment to us"Natalia explained.

"But I still prefer to use our language name for 21st Century Soldier, though"Helena said.

"What is the name of this in Czech then?"Erica asked.

"Voják 21. století"Helena replied in Czech.

Erica immediately laughed, hearing the Czech language.

"Your language still only makes me laugh"she admitted.

"Hey, Shir"Michael turned to Shirley"Wanna try?"

The Liberion Witch immediately nodded her head. Michael took off his helmet and gave it to Shirley. She put it on and put on goggles.

"Nice"she whispered.

In the left corner of her sight, she could see a little round radar, showing green dots symbolizing everyone around her. In right upper corner, she was seeing statistics and options menu.

"What is this radar in the corner?"she asked Michael.

"It's your HUD. It shows you where enemies and allies are. Thanks to this, you can quickly orientate in situation"the boy explained"It also monitors your health and when you get shot, it also shows where the wounds are. This menu button in left upper corner helps you to change your vision into night or infrared".

"Sounds great. Is everyone in school now have those?"Shirley asked, taking the helmet off.

"No. Until now, only our 66th Marines Brigade received this. The deliveries are just starting"Michael explained.

"I see that you already became friends with your new gear"the voice from behind said.

Witches turned, to see a boy and girl walking towards them. The boy had short, black hair, brown eyes and was wearing blue blouse, glasses in square holders, black pants and this everything was decorated with white scientific coat.

The girls on the other hand was surprise for Witches, when they noticed that she looks…like third Erica. And more precisely, with those glasses on, more like Erica's sister Ursula. She was dressed in green T-shirt and blue skirt with black thighs and was also wearing an scientist white coat.

"Orłowski, Komesky. Good to see you. I though you'll be there already"Ellen said.

"That's why we left a letter for you"Ursula's double said.

She then noticed Erica standing with Witches.

"I see that you didn't lied, Natalia. She's our double".

"Exactly"Natalia said and came to the girl"This is my twin sister Vanda Komesky, the main scientist of our school".

"Nice to meet you"Vanda said.

"For us too"Rall said.

"Together with the rest of our school Research Team and Polish Research Office, Orłowski and Natalia's sister creates Coalition Special Research Division. They're taking care of new weapons or other gadgets, that can help us win this war"Natalia explained.

"It's really responsible job"Orłowski added.

Sakamoto in the meantime rubbed her chin, when something appeared in her head.

"Wait a second. You are this crazy scientist that experiment with animals?"she asked, pointing at Orłowski.

He only threw up his arms.

"Nah. It's just my hobby"he replied flippantly.

"What do you mean by 'experimenting on animals'?"curious Nikka asked.

"Remember as I told you about this fight with Chinese on ORP _Cracow_ , when we arrived there?"Eila asked her.

"Yes"Nikka replied.

"Let's just say, that I bypassed the part about giant, two meter high spider, that helped us in breaking through them"Eila replied.

Brave Witches looked at Orłowski with little surprise and fear.

"Dude. So uncool"Krupinski stated.

"That's where my mad part starts"he replied.

Brave Witches only nodded their heads in response.

"Okay. Let's now take care about this day. Tomorrow is a big day"James said.

Everyone just nodded and left the place.

12:31

Regency Cafe

Natalia and Helena were sitting in the cafe, taking care of their own affairs. Natalia was eating some fish with fries, while Helena was writing something in the laptop in front of her. As they were doing this, Erica and Barkhorn joined them.

"Hi. I see that you're a bit stressed about tomorrow"Helena stated, lifting her eyes only for a second.

"Yeah. We never took part in any landing operation. Only Shirley has experience, she was fighting in the Pacific Front with Neuroi as an air cover for Liberion Marines"Barkhorn replied"But after South America, she probably also have experience in fighting on the ground".

"The same as Francesca and Lynette. Remember that they also landed on the beaches"Erica added.

Barkhorn had to agree with her, by nodding her head.

"Okay. You don't have to be worried. We're all stressed. This operation have to start Europe liberation phase"Natalia said. She then gave one of fries to Erica"Wanna some?"

"Sure"the Karlsland Witch replied, taking a crisp.

Meanwhile, Barkhorn was, with curiosity, watching Helena's writing. The Czech girl fingers were quickly moving from one letter to another, what really impressed the Karlsland Witch.

"What are you writing there?"Barkhorn finally didn't stand it.

Helena immediately stopped writing and looked at Barkhorn, while her face whole turned red.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing important"she said.

"Oh, Hela, don't be so shy. Show them"Natalia said, patting Helena in back and putting a whole bunch of fries in her mouth.

Helena only sighed and said:

"Okay. Let it be. Just don't laugh, okay?"

"We don't even thing about it"Erica provided.

The Czech girl then turned the laptop towards them and saw what she was writing. The title of page was _The Tales of_ _Arwadia_ _. Book 1:_ _No Man's Lands_ and on the bottom of the page were just initials _H.J.C Norie_.

"What is it?"Erica asked.

"It's my newest book. I started to write it around month ago"Helena replied.

Both Barkhorn and Erica widened their eyes after hearing that Helena is writing books.

"Wait. You're a writer? Then why have you joined the army?"Barkhorn asked.

"I just never imagined myself as a writer. Besides, I don't even use my real name for this"Helena explained.

"Then what is it?"Erica asked, pointing at the initials.

"Helena Jana Catherine. Initials from my names. Norie is just my artistic nickname"Helena explained"Catherine is my name from confirmation".

"Trude, you're also writing books?"Erica asked Barkhorn.

"No. I actually never thought about this. Since I joined Luftwaffe, I though only about protecting Karlsland"Barkhorn replied.

She then turned to Helena again:

"If this is your newest book, then you written some already?"

"Yeah. I written my first book at the age of 10. It was _Assassin's Creed:_ _Eternal_ _Brotherhood_. Two years later I written the sequel called _Assassin's Creed:_ _Eternal_ _Brotherhood 2_. I was doing it in cooperation with Bela"Helena explained.

"And what general Tripomova was doing?"curious Erica asked.

"Let's just say, that she's master of creating computer graphics. She was making cover images to my books"Helena replied.

"And have you released those books?"Barkhorn asked again.

Helena quickly turned her eyes and said:

"Yeah. I released them".

"Look at me when you're talking. It's an order"Barkhorn ordered.

"This is abuse of authority"Helena pointed out. But she replied"No. I didn't released them. I'm too afraid".

"Afraid of what?"Erica asked.

"Of that people won't like them. That's why"the Czech girl replied.

Two Karlslandian Witches nodded in understanding. Natalia then stood up.

"I'm now going to get some rest. See ya later"she said and left the cafe.

"I'll never understand her"Helena stated.

But she also closed her laptop and stood up.

"Let's go. We have last day for preparations"she said.

With these words, the three also left the cafe.

13:31

ORP _Cracow_ lab

Adrian was called to the Carrier's lab by Vanda and Orłowski. They told him that they have a special present for him. And that it's only for him. So he went there.

He entered the lab and, passing by some other scientists, came to the two. On the table behind them were laying some Nitrosium cubes and other states of concentration of it.

"What do you want?"Adrian asked stopping.

"Lieutenant Zapała, good that you came"Orłowski said.

"Without pleasantries. I was just picking up a new girl. You literally stopped me from this"he whined.

"Easy. It won't take so long. Trust us"Vanda provided.

Adrian rolled his eyes.

"Just show me what you want"he ordered.

Orłowski then reached his back pocked and pulled an object from it. It looked like a cigar and was as long as Adrian's hand.

"What the heck is this?"Adrian asked.

"Just take it. And hold it like a sword"Orłowski said.

Adrian did as he said. He took the object and hold it like a sword. At the beginning, nothing interesting happened. But then, two holographic blades suddenly appeared and pointed on the ground in front of Adrian.

The boy looked at two scientists.

"Is this…"he asked in disbelief.

"It's our newest invention called Nitrosium Energy Blade. The handle contains an Nitrosium core. Thanks to this, the blades are able to cut through almost every material"Vanda explained"It also has an DNA scanner, so the handle will active only when you're welding it".

"But why are you giving this to me?"still amazed Adrian asked.

"We heard that you had an fencing lessons back in elementary school"Orłowski stated.

Adrian nodded. In the elementary, Adrian was taking part in fencing lessons and had probably the best results of all of lessons contestants. But when he joined the army, he hadn't welded a sword for next four years.

"You can even try it on this mannequin"Vanda said.

The Polish boy just then noticed a mannequin standing next to them. He stood in front of it and took a swing.

The blade easily came through the mannequin, cutting it in half. Both halves collapse on the ground.

"I'm gonna like this thing"Adrian stated.

"You sure will"Vanda replied.

"And I'm gonna get a big bunch of chicks with it"he added smiling.

Orłowski and Vanda only looked at each other.

"Whatever"Orłowski stated.

"Thanks".

With those words, he left the lab.

14:22

London Harbor

Hikari and Nikka were watching as Adrian swing his sword, cutting the air. They were impressed by his moves and how he used the sword.

"And left"he said, hitting from the left"And right".

"This sword is awesome"Nikka stated.

"I agree with you"Hikari said.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an ammo crate flew towards the Adrian. The boy seemed to not see the crate, before he suddenly turned and cut down.

"Swish!"Adrian exclaimed as his hand with sword moved down.

Soon, two Witches saw as the crate literally separated in two parts as it passed by Adrian. The boy then turned the sword off and looked at two parts of crate.

"Okay, who threw this at me?"Adrian asked, looking around.

"I"Barkhorn said, deactivating her familiar.

"Nice one, Barkhorn. But why you did this?"he asked her.

"I wanted to see if you'll be able to cut it"she replied"And because Shirley wanted to see".

Adrian then noticed Shirley, Lucchini and Krupinski standing some meters away. Then, they approached him, the same as Hikari and Nikka.

"Awesome! Can I hold this sword?"Shirley asked.

"Yeager, you really…"Barkhorn tried to say, but Adrian was faster.

"Sure. Catch"he said, throwing the NEB handle to her.

The Liberion Witch caught the handle. But when she tried to turn it on, the blade didn't appeared.

"What's going on?"Krupinski asked.

"Yeah, what?"Lucchini asked too.

"I forgot to mention that it has DNA scanner and activate only when I'm holding it"Adrian explained.

"Oh. That's a pity"Shirley said, giving the sword back to him.

Adrian attached the handle back to his belt and said:

"Okay. Let's go now. We have last preparations to do"he said.

Others only nodded. They went to do last preparations before Night Torch.

August 10, 2022

21:22

RFS _Ivan Gren_ , Bridge

Sanya just opened her eyes and looked around the Bridge. Everywhere around she was seeing bodies of crew and other soldiers. In front of the bridge, was a giant hole after missile. She tried to stand up, but immediately felt a massive pain in her leg. She looked at it and saw that it's pierced by a fragment o one of control panels.

She then remembered everything. The invasion force was ambushed by Chinese fleets, not soon after the left London Harbor. The giant wave of missiles destroyed or damaged many ships, including _Ivan Gren_.

The invasion of Normandy was a complete failure.

She then heard as someone is opening the doors. Fortunately, her AK-103 was laying right next to her. Sanya checked the magazine and when she stated that it's full, aimed it at the door.

Right then, the doors opened to show a group of Chinese Marines entering. They didn't noticed her, until pulled the trigger and opened fire. The head of one of Marines exploded and his helmet flew up.

Other Marines noticed Sanya, but she continued firing, killing another two, and forced Marines to hide behind some obstacles on the Bridge. Sanya then stopped firing.

One Marine leaned to see if she's out of ammo and immediately scored a bullet in the head.

But Sanya didn't noticed as one of Marines sneaks around her, until she felt bullet hitting her neck. She quickly grabbed it, to stop the bleeding.

The Marine that shot her stood in front of her. She was already choking with her blood, so she couldn't say anything. The Marine said in Russian:

"This is the price for resisting us".

He then took his pistol and aimed at Sanya's head. Everything ended with a flash of light.

XXX

Sanya woke up, screaming. She looked around and saw that she's still in her bed on _Ivan Gren_. On the second bed next to her, Linchov was laying on his left side, arms crossed on his chest.

"Bad dream?"he suddenly asked.

The Orussian Witch just then noticed that he's actually not sleeping. She just nodded her head.

"Very bad"Sanya replied.

"I know what you're talking about. I'm also worried about this"Linchov said.

"What do you mean?"

Linchov sat down on the bed and said:

"We all know how the previous invasion of Normandy in 1944 looked. It was the biggest naval invasion in history. And was one of biggest Allies victories. But in whole invasion, died 16000, 21000 men. From which 12000 were allies, 4000 to 9000 were Nazis".

A little shiver came through Sanya's back.

"Big numbers"she stated.

"Yeah. But this invasion have to be done perfectly, if we want to see our homes again"he ended.

Sanya nodded her head.

"Now, let's go to sleep. We have invasion to do"Linchov said, laying down back.

Sanya also laid down on her backs and the two was soon sleeping.

August 11, 2022 (Operation: Night Torch day)

06:34

 _San Marco_ , Armory

Lina, Mario and Lucchini were just wearing their uniforms on. Around them, other Marines of MHS and Regular Army were doing the same. They were also checking their weapons and ammo status.

"Here we go"Lina said cheerfully.

"You know, sometimes, I'm worried about your optimism"Mario stated, wearing his vest.

"It can't be so bad. How does even Chinese fortified?"Lucchini entered the conversation.

"I heard that they set up some bunkers on whole beach line. They have also anti-ship missile launchers, anti-air guns and some artillery. And of course machine guns"he replied.

Lina and Lucchini looked at each other.

"Okay, maybe you're right"Lina stated.

"You're ready, kids?"one of Regular Army soldiers asked.

"Yes, we are"Lucchini replied.

"Then let's go"another Regular said.

Everyone took their weapons and equipment and went to the landing craft bay.

USS _Austin_

Dock

As not all navies taking part in the landing had landing ships and crafts, Americans, Russians, French, Italian and British offered that they can help other nations.

The command platoon of Panzerbrigade 4 was just loading on LCAC hovercraft. Barkhorn was signaling to Ursula how to drive and not miss the LCAC deck.

"And stop!"she ordered.

The tank stopped right before the back wall of hovercraft's deck. Soon, other tanks also stopped and were ready to land.

"Phew. I'm so stressed. Last time when Germany took care in landing was in 1944"Ursula said.

"I'm stressed too. But don't worry. We'll do it"Barkhorn provided.

"Hey, captain"Conny said"If we not make it out, can you say our famiwy, that we'ww be missing them?"

Barkhorn looked at Conny with surprised look.

"What are you talking about? I'm sure, that we all make it out. We're team, right?"Barkhorn replied.

She had to admin, that by all this time she worked with Ursula, Conny and Michael, she really liked those First Years. Although they were a bit annoying, as a First Years, they were competent soldiers and crew. And good friends.

The three nodded their heads.

"Yes. We're team"Michael replied.

"Let's now take care of this everything"Barkhorn stated.

08:53

USS _Wasp_ , near Coast of France…

Operation: Night Torch status: Begun

Soldiers of 66th Marines Brigade were standing in front of general Davis, who personally decided to give a speech for them.

"Soldiers!"Davis started"Chinese war machine harassed Europe and Asia by too much time! Today, with our allies, we embark on an operation of unparalleled importance! To establish a beachhead in Normandy and roll back the Chinese aggression, that has terrorized our world by last four years. We're all that separates the world from darkness. This is so much more than a chance to be heroes in our own lifetimes. If we prevail, our triumph will be etched into the hearts and minds of grateful world for untold generations. I'm talkin' not only about glory, ladies and gentleman. I'm talking about everyone that waits on you at home. If we fail, America will end like Europe and Asia. We fought so long, we lost so many lives, not to lose again. Those all victories in past two years, showed the Chinese that we're not so light enemy. That's why, they'll be fighting two, even ten times as hard as before. I want you to overcome this! To stand and fight for everything you love! For your homes, families and friends! Show them, what we're made of!"

The answer to the speech was an eruption of cheers and soldiers lifting their weapons in the air.

"Let's now kick 'em out of Europe!"Davis ended.

With these words, general walked off podium.

"General can give a speech, right?"Michael asked Shirley.

"Yeah. I already feel motivated"she replied.

"Me too"Tiffany added.

"Okay, let's now go. We have beachhead to capture"Will said.

All Marines then went to USS _Wasp_ bay, where they loaded on AAV7s and swum to the shore. In the meantime, ships fired cruise missiles at the beach defenses.

Rouen, Behind Chinese lines…

Minna and her paratroopers, like other paratrooper groups, were dropped behind Chinese lines, to stop any possible enemy reinforcements from reaching the beaches. Together with American and Russian paratroopers, they were ordered to capture Pont Gustave-Flauberd bridge in Rouen.

Frauke just fired another missile at enemy BTR-90. It pierced through the armor and exploded inside.

"Another one bites the dust!"she exclaimed.

"And another!"Astrid added.

She aimed her G36 at group of Chinese behind the BTR and pulled the trigger. The bullets pierced their vests and killed the group.

"How long can we hold 'em?"Dorothee asked.

"As long, as our reinforcements will arrive!"Minna replied.

"I don't think it'll be so soon!"Erwin shouted back.

One of American paratroopers leaned from behind the cover and pulled the trigger of his M4A1. But then, he was hit straight in the head. His body just fell on the ground.

"Damn it! I hope they'll be here soon!"Franz said.

09:00

En route to landing point…

The atmosphere inside BvS 10 was somewhat tense. Royal Marines tried to focus on something else, but there was only one thing on their minds: survive the first step on the beach.

Chris was sitting next to Lynette. He put his hand on her arm, to calm her down.

"Hey. It's gonna be okay, trust me"he said.

"I know. But if they're fortified as hard as intel said…"she tried to say, but was cut off but McFalton.

"Easy. I'm sure we'll go through this smoothly"he stated.

Lynette again looked at his cape.

"Why are you wearing this?"she asked.

Robert only looked at his cape and smiled.

"It was part of my desert camouflage, when Chinese spread in Australia all the way to the Simpson's Desert. This cape saved my life a few times. That's why I never parting with it"McFalton explained.

"We're about to hit the beachhead!"James, sitting right next to the ramp, exclaimed.

After he said that, everyone felt as the vehicle drives on the land.

"GO!"James ordered.

Ramp started to open and when it stopped, Royal Marines and Australians exited the vehicle.

When they did, they were greeted by a machine gun fire from the pillboxes on the beach. They quickly hid in some craters after the missiles. But some of them didn't been so lucky.

"Okay, maybe I overestimated my abilities!"McFalton exclaimed.

He lifted up and aimed his AW50F at one of pillboxes. There was a short 'bang' and the Australian was again in the crater.

"I got one"he said.

"One MG less!"James said to him.

"Yup! Now, we need to move somehow forward!"Natasha joined the conversation.

Then, they saw some harder equipment landing on the beach. Polish _Lublin_ -class landing and mine ships, American LCACs, Russian and Italian landing crafts dropped soldiers, cars, APCs and tanks.

Panzerbrigade 4 Command Platoon

Barkhorn felt as the hovercraft hits the beachhead. When Ursula communicated that the ramp went down, Barkhorn ordered whole platoon to move forward. The four tanks rolled off the hovercraft.

"Let's now secure this beach!"Barkhorn ordered to platoon.

Ursula aimed the tower at one of pillboxes. Conny did the rest, firing at it. Whole construction disappeared in the cloud of dust and fire, when it was hit.

The shell fell out of the gun and Michael immediately loaded another one.

"What now?"he asked.

"When we cross through the bunker line and trenches line, we have to capture enemy staff in Saint-Valery-en-Caux city. Then, we have to help our paratroopers that are stopping enemy reinforcements"the Karlsland Witch explained.

"I heard that col. Wilcke and her squad landed in Rouen"Ursula said through communicator.

"Yeah. And I want to reach them, before Chinese and French Commune will slaughter them".

Back with Royal Marines…

The beach was filled with vehicles and new soldiers. One of Panzerbrigade 4 tanks stopped next to the crater and hatch opened.

"What are you doing?"Barkhorn asked.

"Hiding from the bullets"Chris replied.

"Then stand up. We'll provide you a good cover"Barkhorn provided.

British and Australians stood up and hid behind the tank. Barkhorn closed the hatch and they moved forward.

Visegrad Group Landing Party

Polish, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian troops also moved forward with their vehicles. Although some losses, they won't stopped. At now, they were engaging group of French Commune soldiers.

"I see that Fake-French don't want us to reach Paris"Natalia stated.

"You don't say?"Helena replied.

She looked at her HUD in left down corner. It showed around 38 red dots behind her.

"At least, those HUDs are doing good"she stated.

Helena then leaned our from the cover and fired her CZ 805 BREN at French Commune troops in trenches. As her goggles marked the enemies as red circles, she knew when some were disappearing. She saw as 6 circles disappeared from her HUD and from trenches.

"I see that you're taking whole fun"Janos stated, stopping behind their cover.

"Easy. There's plenty of them. It's enough for everyone"Natalia replied.

This time, she leaned and fired. The bullets hit another enemy.

"Where are Poles?"Helena asked him.

"Somewhere there"Janos replied, pointing at opposite side of the beach.

There, the three could see Polish soldiers moving behind their Rosomak APCs and T-72 tanks. The tanks and APCs were firing at the pillboxes and soldiers standing on the cliff.

"I hate this cliff coast"Saltarski stated.

"Me too. How do we have to bring vehicles over it?"Adrian replied.

"I dunno. Our whole hope is in that the ones landing right next to the city will open a way for us"Hisako stated.

"Good point"Slatarski replied.

He leaned from behind the cover and fired in the direction of pillbox. He saw on his HUD as red dots inside disappear and the MG stops firing.

"One bunker down"he said.

Next to Saint-Valery-en-Caux…

Spetsnaz troops already broke through the defenses on their part of beach and entered the city. They also spread on some suburban farmlands, where they were engaging trenches.

Linchov just evaded a bullet from French Commune soldier, then he returned fire, scoring two kills.

"We need some Nitrosium heavy Troopers"he said.

"I agree with you"Aleksandra replied.

Orussian Witch fired her AK-103 at the trench and also killed two.

"Okay guys!"Linchov turned to his soldiers"Let's clear this fast! Bayonet on weapon!"

With these words, all Linchov's troops took their bayonets and mounted them on their riffles. He gave them a sign, which they all knew. They charged forward and jumped into the trench, with some soldiers, including Aleksandra, digging their bayonets in enemies throats.

Although it was needed, Aleksandra closed her eyes, to not see the dying soldier. She only pulled her bayonet out of his neck.

She then looked at the rest of trench, which was now filled with sound of bayonets hitting bayonets. She saw Linchov evaporating the enemy bayonet. Next, he pulled his gun and aimed at French Commune soldier chest. He pullet the trigger and after short series of shots, the enemy soldier fell on the ground. Linchov just turned to another enemy.

By the time of this little inadvertently, Aleksandra haven't noticed enemy soldier, which was about to hit her with bayonet. It didn't happened, though, because the Witch was covered by other Spetsnaz soldier. Enemy stabbed him straight in the face. This allowed Aleksandra to notice him, so she turned an stabbed him in the throat again. Both Spetsnaz and French Commune soldier fell on the ground.

In the meantime, the sound of melee fight in trench ended and Spetsnaz soldiers were looking at the dead French Commune and Chinese soldiers.

"Trench cleared!"one of Spetsnaz said.

"Good. Let's now move to another one"Linchov ordered.

He then noticed Aleksandra, kneeling over dead Spetsnaz, which saved her. Linchov approached her and knelt too.

"Poor Dmitri. Rest in peace, buddy"Linchov said, closing soldier's eyes.

"He saved me"Aleksandra whispered.

"He was always a type of guy who wanted to save everyone. You should be thankful to him"the boy stated.

"I'm"she replied.

The two then listened to sounds of MGs and heavier cannons thundering all over the beach.

"Let's move. We have more job to do"Linchov said.

With these words, Spetsnaz left the trench and moved forward.

Back with Royal Marines…

Royal Marines, with help of Panzerbigade 4 Command Platoon, also broke through the pillboxes on the beach and were now clearing them one by one. They were soon joined by Finnish troops and American Marines. Soldiers entered inside of them, while tanks and other vehicles were stopping reinforcements.

Ellen leaned her head from behind the corner, but immediately hid it back, when the bullets flew next to it.

"Yeah, they're there"she said to Michael.

"What now?"Eevi questioned.

Michael though for a moment, then said, turning to Shirley and Lynette:

"Shir, Lynn. Can you use your shields?"

"Why not"Shirley replied, looking at Lynette.

"Sure. Let's do this"the Brittanian Witch said.

The two exited from behind the corner and activated their shields. Surprised Chinese hesitated a little, but ultimately opened fire. The bullets hit the shields, fortunately not breaking them.

"Smith! Jaaksen! Your turn!"Michael ordered.

Then a Finnish and American Nitrosium Heavy Troopers stood behind the Witches and aimed their weapons under the shields. They pulled the triggers and shells fired from them hit the Chinese and exploded. Soon, the corridor was filled with screams of burning enemies.

"Done. Let's now clear the MG nest"McFalton ordered.

The group went up the stairs leading to the MG nest. On the way, Shirley talked to Michael:

"Listen. I was wondering about this whole Nitrosium Steel and Nitrosium Plastic. How you make them?"

"Simple. We just mix metal and plastics with liquid Nitrosium"he explained.

"Oh"was everything Shirley could say.

They reached the doors to MG nest, stood on both sides and though what to do next.

"What now?"James asked.

"Does anyone have explosives?"Michael asked.

One of Marines opened his backpack and took some C4 from inside. He placed it on the door and turned to everyone:

"Cover your ears. It gonna be loud".

The C4 exploded, sending the armored doors forward. Some unfortunate French Commune soldier stood right behind them and was flattened on them, when they flew forward.

When doors were gone, Coalition troops run inside the MG nest and started firing. In next few seconds, they cleared whole place.

"Clear!"Shirley said.

"Clear!"Chris said.

Michael came up to the pillbox's edge and looked at the beach, where other Coalition forces tried to break through.

"Okay, let's get going with another ones"he ordered.

Everyone left the pillbox and moved to another.

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Harbor

German forces moved more and more inland, breaking through the Chinese and French Commune lines. They were moving from house to house, meeting heavy resistance.

Anton just clung his back to the destroyed M3 Bradley, evading being shot by sniper. But one of his soldiers was not so fortunate and his head exploded, leaving only red stain under the body. Others did the same as their commander.

"What now?"one of soldiers asked.

"I dunno, Walter. Can you call some kind of support?"Anton replied to him.

Walter activated his communicator. After few seconds, he smiled.

"Copy that, we're waiting"he said.

Anton sent asking look to him.

"Who'd you called?"Anton asked.

"Some heavy support"Walther simply replied.

When he said that, a group of German Nitrosium heavy Troopers entered the street. Sniper probably saw them, because Anton saw flash of ricochet from their chest body armor. Troopers aimed their Heckler & Koch G67 Nitrosium cannons at the hotel on which roof the sniper was.

In addition to much of Nitrosium Heavy Troopers units in other nations, which were using incendiary Nitrosium shells, German NHT units were using high explosive. That's why, when they hit the place where sniper was, the explosion also took with it some parts of other floors.

The Troopers approached Anton's squad.

"Did we helped?"Rall asked.

"As hell. Thanks. This sniper could change us into rotting corpses"Anton replied.

"I know. Let's now move. Where is enemy headquarters again?"the Witch questioned.

"In Eglisse church. We have to go by Boulevard Carnot street, then turn into Rue d'Ectot street"Walter explained.

"And how far is this church from here?"Rall turned to him.

Walter looked at Anton and smiled.

"Somewhere on the city limits"he said.

Rall only palmed her face.

"Okay. Let's go. If we get there soon enough, we might end this today"she said.

Whole group stood up and directed towards the church.

Visegrad Group Landing Party

On the second side of the city, Polish, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian soldiers broke through the defenses and already entered the city. They were pushing forward, but some group of Chinese were closed in encirclement in city's supermarket Express.

Adrian was slowly moving through the supermarket alleys, with his Nitrosium Energy Blade activated. Until now, he hadn't met any Chinese soldiers, but was paying attention on every direction.

"Adrian. This is Krystian. What about you?"Saltarski asked in radio.

"No enemies in sight, Boss. Still"Adrian replied.

As he said that, a Chinese soldier suddenly jumped from behind the corner and tried to stab Adrian with his bayonet. But he wasn't ready to encounter energy sword.

With one precise cut from left, Adrian slashed the riffle in two parts and the barrel with bayonet fell on the ground. Chinese looked at it and then on Adrian. Before he knew, Adrian waved the sword and the blade went through the Chinese waist. Adrian then turned on his heel and slashed the soldier from up. His arm stopped right in the place when he cut through the waist.

The Chinese, now in three parts, fell on the ground. Adrian only stood and looked at it satisfied.

He then heard short series from riffles. Soon after this, he was joined by Saltarski and Hisako. Hisako turned her sight, when she saw the Chinese killed by Adrian.

"Shocker"she said.

"There was no other option. Let's now go to the rest"Adrian said.

"Yeah"Saltarski replied and turned the radio on"Major Woźniak, supermarket is clear. All enemies eliminated".

"Good, captain Saltarski. Now, come here and help us"major replied.

"Understood, Sir".

The three quickly left the supermarket and joined the rest.

Once they joined the rest of their forces, they went into a fire exchange between Leopard 2PL tanks and French Commune MAX-56s, taking place in the car parking. One of enemy tanks exploded, after it was hit by a shell from Polish tank.

They approached major Woźniak.

"I wish we could finally get those new K2PL"the major said to himself. He then noticed them"Good to see you".

"What you want us to do, major?"Adrian asked.

He already hid his sword and took his riffle.

"I want you to help 8th Infantry Company to reach the church, where the Chinese set up a headquarters. They have some not cool things on their way"major explained.

"As you wish, major"Saltarski replied and the three went support.

Over the Normandy…

Although the most important fights were taking place on the ground, the Coalition pilots also had hands full of work. They had to stop every possible Chinese and French Commune aircraft, that wanted to bombard invasion force. Nobody wanted ground troops to be killed by aircraft.

Misaka fired her gun at the Mirage 2000, which after few bullets changed into falling ball of fire. Kotaro followed her, shooting down enemy J-11. Then Florian fired his missile at French Commune Typhoon. When he dropped flares, German pilot just shattered the aircraft with his gun.

"Always fight fire with fire"Sakamoto said, seeing Florian shooting down the Typhoon.

"Always"he replied.

"This is Sky Keeper. I'm detecting enemy Ace pilot in the area. It's Navy Blue Twenty Three"Sky Keeper reported.

"Thanks, Sky Keeper. We'll take him out"Charles provided.

His eyes then landed on F-22 with navy blue 23 on his tale.

"Where did he get Raptor?"Charles asked AWACS.

"Probably from Rammstein. C-17 were not only planes Americans didn't managed to evacuate"Sky Keeper explained"And it's 'she', not 'he'".

Charles only sighed and decided to take care of the Ace. He hit the afterburners and landed on her tail. He fired his gun, but Raptor made quick Aileron Roll, evading the bullets. He then performed Cobra maneuver and landed behind surprised Charles. The French boy felt the bullets hitting his plane and sparks from the places she hit.

"Little assistance?"he asked.

The Raptor then was almost hit by sudden lightning, so he just bounced right. Perrine joined Charles.

"You're okay?"she asked.

"Yeah. Thanks, Perrine"Charles replied"Remember: never underestimate guys piloting F-22".

Then, Perrine noticed one thing.

"Hey, he just disappeared"she said.

"Damn Stealth. Better look everywhere. He can sneak and kill you from behind"Charles explained.

As he said that, Perrine got missile warning. She quickly did Barrel Roll and dodged the missile. Then she turned and F-22 again appeared on her radar. The aircraft tried to fly up and disappear from radar again, but Perrine didn't wanted to allow him.

"No you don't!"she said.

She used her ability and Raptor was hit by a lightning. Soon, he started to fall down.

"Got him"Charles said.

He lined up with falling aircraft and fired his missiles. They hit into Raptor, which disappeared in ball of fire and metal.

"Sky Keeper, Navy Blue Twenty Three's down. Take him off the list"he ordered to AWACS.

"Got it, major"Sky Keeper replied.

Laura dropped behind French Commune F-15, which tried to escape from her, but Laura performed Low Yo-Yo and when she aimed her gun at Eagle's back, she fired her gun, hitting it and destroying it.

"Sky is clear for now. But be prepared for more"Sky Keeper informed.

Saint-Valery-en-Caux airspace

The group of Belorussian and German helicopters were flying over the city, looking for any possible target. They quickly took care of beach defenses and started the second step.

"Okay, report if you see anything"Maleroshka ordered.

"Enemy tanks on the left"Krupinski reported.

"Copy that"Tigers commander replied.

Helicopters turned in this direction and found a group of ten Chinese ZTZ-99 tanks. They fired anti-tank missiles and after few seconds, the tanks were only burning wrecks.

"Ten less. Only 20000 Chinese tanks left"Maleroshka's co-pilot said.

"In whole Europe and Asia, Miron"Maleroshka replied.

"RPG!"one of other Mi-24 pilots said.

On the roof of house was standing a soldier with RPG-7. He fired the missile, which hit in the tail of Eurocopter Tiger. Helicopter started to fall down, until it hit the ground. Fortunately, the machine didn't exploded.

Maleroshka turned his helicopter in the direction of Chinese, which was already loading another missile. He fired his gun and Chinese was changed into red mist.

"Saber 4 is down. Send someone to look for survivors"Tigers commander ordered.

One of Mi-24s landed next to the wreck and it's side doors opened. Group of Belorussian soldiers exited it and came to Tiger.

"Both pilots are alive!"commander reported.

"Good. Take them on Koronija 2"Maleroshka ordered.

"Copy that, Koronija 1"commander replied.

The soldiers stretched two pilots from the cockpit and with them, they entered the Mi-24. The helicopter lifted up and again joined the group.

"Let's move forward"Rosman said.

"Copy that, Saber 5. Saber Squadron forward"squadron leader ordered.

"Koronija Squadron, forward"Maleroshka ordered.

Two helicopter groups separated and started to look for more enemies.

Italian Marines group

"Got another!"Lina said, as she killed another French Commune soldier.

"Let's now move. We need to get to this church"Mario said.

The three, including Lucchini, and some Regular Army soldiers followed B1 Centauro tank destroyer. The vehicle fired another shell, which hit enemy M1 Abrams and destroyed it. Next, the group of enemy soldiers appeared and fired at the Marines. But they returned fire and soon, there was no trace of French Commune soldiers.

"Damn fake-French"Lina whispered.

Then, the squad of French soldiers joined them. With a specific person in command.

"Hi, what's up?"Crystal asked.

"Good. Killing fake-French, moving forward, trying to liberate France. Nothing special"Lina replied.

"And honestly, we try to not get killed by them"Mario said shortly.

"So without changes"Crystal summed.

"Yup"Lucchini added.

Crystal then leaned from behind the Centauro and fired at French Commune sniper standing on the roof. When he was pierced by the bullets, he just fell off the roof.

"Do you have any news from Anton?"Crystal asked.

"Last I heard of him, he was closing to the Church headquarters"Lucchini replied.  
"Then better move in that direction"the French girl stated.

With these words, the squad just moved towards the church.

Eglisse church, Saint-Valery-en-Caux outskirts

Germans already fought their way to the church. At now, they were engaging with Chinese defenses around the building, in form of trenches filled with soldiers and two tanks. They already killed some defenders, but the resistance was still big.

"Can you take care of those tanks?"Anton asked Rall.

"We'll try"Rall replied.

Her Troopers stood up and aimed their HK G67s at tanks. They pulled the triggers and shells hit their targets.

In the beginning, there was no sign of any result. But then, two tanks pouted like balloons and fire started to gush from the holes after shells and soon, two tanks were shredded into parts by inside explosion.

"Merde!"one of French Commune soldiers said.

"Got u"Walter said.

He aimed his G82 at him and after he pulled the trigger, he saw as his helmet flies up and bounce of the ground. Then Anton and other soldiers aimed their AG36 grenade launchers and fired at the trench. Soon, they saw body parts and blood flying out of it.

"Trench cleared!"one of soldiers said.

"Good. Let's now take the church"Anton ordered.

They moved through the square in front of the church and stopped next to the main doors. They slowly opened it and entered inside.

There, they found everything what should be in headquarters: radios, maps and transponders. They also found a group of surprised headquarters crew.

"Put your hands up in the air!"Anton ordered.

Defenseless HQ crew quickly lifted their arms in the air.

"On the knees and we'll not hurt you!"Walter said.

Soldiers did what they ordered to them. They didn't hid surprise on their faces. By almost whole war, they were told that Coalition is brutal and emotionless organization slaughtering prisoners and making strange experiments on them.

And then, there's a soldiers saying that they won't hurt them.

Coalition soldiers were as much surprised as them, when they noticed that HQ crew are just students of PLA High School.

"I see they're putting into fight everything they have"Rall stated.

"True. Now, let's tell them to send the message"Anton replied.

He came to surrendering HQ crew and asked:

"Who's in command here?"

No one responded.

"Somebody knows Chinese?"he turned to his squad.

"I know!"one of soldiers said.

Anton invented him with hand move. Soldier came up to the group, leaned over the Chinese and asked:

"Shuí zài zhèlǐ? (Who's in command here?)"

"Wǒ (I)"one of Chinese replied.

"Nǐ gàosù nǐ yào fàngqì (You have to tell yours to surrender)"the German ordered.

He took the commander's arm and lifted him up. They came to radio and commander took it. He said something and put it down.

"What'd he said?"Rall asked.

"He said 'All units, hold your fire. We've lost'"the soldier explained.

Panzerbrigade 4

"Fire!"Barkhorn ordered.

The Leopard 3 fired and the shell hit enemy Leopard 2 in the tower. Crew started to leave the vehicle. But then, three more tanks drove from the turn.

"Enemy T-90s on the weft!"Conny reported.

When she said that, three tanks stopped and crew started to exit from them. They knelt next to the tanks and put their hands behind heads.

Everyone in Leopard 3 looked at each other.

"What are they doing?"Michael asked.

"I think they're surrendering"Barkhorn stated.

"Is that mean that we won?"Excited Ursula asked.

"I think that yes"the Witch replied.

Everybody in tank erupted with cheers. It was already 18:31 and the battle was finally over.

"Wait, what about paratroopers?!"Barkhorn suddenly asked.

18:35

Rouen

Minna was limp with one leg completely covered in bandages after the gun shot wounds. She once more checked ammo in her QBZ-95 riffle. She left the G36 around for hours ago. She still had 10 rounds in magazine and 3 more magazines.

She entered a hotel where she and surviving paratroopers were hiding. Americans and Russians were fully dead. They failed in holding the bridge, so Chinese reinforcements managed to make their way through. She didn't knew if battle was over or no, but they probably don't see any help here.

She entered a room where Dorothee tried to bear Erwin's wounds. Astrid and Franz were looking for Chinese through the windows. Fortunately, no civilian reported them to Chinese.

"How's Erwin doing?"Minna asked.

"Not good. He needs medical help now, if he has to survive"Dorothee replied.

"There's no option for this. You need to do something by yourself"Minna ordered.

"Hey, I'm a Medic, not a freaking surgeon! I don't have special tools for this!"the girl replied.

"Just do something and don't let him die!"Astrid shouted.

The two looked at her. They knew that relations between Astrid and Erwin were…complicated. Although they were always staying close to each other, this was mostly some sort of rough friendship.

"Okay. I'll try my best, but I can't promise everything"Dorothee said to Astrid.

"Thanks"the strawberry blond haired girl replied.

"Guys! We got company!"Franz reported.

Minna came to the window and saw what he was seeing.

In front of the hotel was a whole blockade in form of tanks and APCs. In front of them, a squad of Chinese was preparing to enter the building.

"Damn it"Minna whispered"Do we have enough ammo to stop them all?"

"Sorry. We maybe kill some, but I don't know we handle those vehicles"Astrid replied.

"And what about Frauke?"

"She's in neighboring room and barely breathing. Like Erwin, she needs medical help. And she's out of missiles"Franz explained.

Minna looked at the group of Chinese. There was no way that they stop them all. Everything they could do, was to kill as much as they can.

"Okay. Prepare to fight. We might not make it, so let's just take with us as many of them as we can"she said.

"Works for me"Astrid stated.

But then, they heard a sound of jet engines.

"Oh come on! They're sending fighters on us!"Dorothee shouted.

Minna saw as people on the second side of the river points into the sky. Also Chinese looked in this direction. And the fear appeared on their faces.

Before anyone could say anything, two anti tank missiles hit the tanks being the part of blockade. Next, a gun fire shredded Chinese soldiers that stood in front of hotel, changing them into red mist.

All paratroopers in the room looked at each other.

"So it means we wont at the beach!"delighted Dorothee exclaimed.

"Is anyone on the second side? This is major Mio Sakamoto of Shinigami Squadron"familiar voice said via radio.

"Mio, this is Minna. We're in this hotel they blockaded"Minna said to Sakamoto.

"Copy that. We have medevac en route"Sakamoto replied"Good that you're alive".

"Barely. We got some wounded and dead soldiers"Minna explained.

Soon, the helicopter with medical support appeared and took wounded paratroopers with them.

22:01

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Beach

After the four hours, the body count was ended. In whole invasion, Coalition lost around 9000 soldiers, while Chinese and Communist French lost 15000. With this came lost of 93 tanks, 224 armored cars and 142 APCs and IFVs for Coalition. Chinese lost 123 tanks, the most in Caen and Brittany, 321 armored cars and 230 other vehicles. This was including both landing phase and post-landing pushing inland. At now, ground forces of Coalition reached all the way to cities like Rouen and Lisieux.

When everything was cleaned after the battle of Saint-Valery-en-Caux, general adjutants and Witches were sitting on the beach, looking at the ships on the English Chanel. It was cloudless night and the moon was shining.

"Well. We heave bridgehead in France. What now?"Sakamoto asked.

"Now? We try to take back Paris. If we succeed, we might get rid of French Commune"James replied.

"Then first part of liberating Europe will be done"Barkhorn said.

She then looked at Minna's previously wounded leg.

"What about your leg?"she asked.

"If not Georgette, then amputation had to be done"Minna replied.

Georgette only threw up her arms.

"That's my job"she stated.

"Okay. Let's go, Shirley. We're moving out tomorrow"Michael said.

Shirley stood up and everyone looked at the two.

"You're moving out? Where?"interested Lucchini asked.

"When we were playing heroes of South America and Normandy, Pentagon made a plan to liberate West Coast from Chinese"Michael explained.

"And how it went?"Hikari asked.

"We took back northern part of the Coast. But Chinese started offensive on the South, in California. Now, they're at the gates of Nevada"Shirley replied"And whole 66th was ordered to fortify Los Angeles".

All Witches looked confused.

"But isn't AL is in California? Shouldn't it be occupied too?"Yoshika asked.

"There's interesting part. Los Angeles was our last bastion on the West Coast. When Chinese were marching to the East, they had our territory behind their lines. We created air bridge to deliver supplies to Fortress AL, as we started to call it"Michael said.

"So…We won't see each other for awhile"Perrine asked Shirley.  
"Sorry. General Davis's orders"Shirley simply said.

Lucchini then hugged Shirley.

"But don't get hurt"she said.

"Easy, Francesca. We'll see each other sometime later"Shirley replied.

"Okay, Shir. Let's go"Michael said.

The two then went to prepare for the move to Los Angeles. Next day, 66th Marines Brigade loaded on planes and flew to United Kingdom, from where they turned towards United States.

XXX

 **Invasion of Normandy is over. I know it's not the best invasion you ever read. But now, it's time for defense of Los Angeles.**

Shirley; Only pity that it was hit by O.D.I.N.

Michael: True.

 **But as Shirley said: ,,General Davis's order".**

Shirley: Yeah.

 **Okay. But now, see ya later!**

Michael & Shirley: See ya!


	12. Chapter 11

**Now it's time for a second side of the world voyage. Los Angeles, the last bastion of United States Army on the West Coast.**

Michael: Not so last, if you look at liberated Oregon and Washington.

 **Also true.**

Shirley: Besides, I felt that something like this is coming. I just hope that in Europe everything will be okay.

 **Of course. But now, let's get into the story.**

Chapter 11

,,Brave New World"

August 19, 2022

09:47

Los Angeles, California

Shirley opened her eyes after someone punched her arm. She looked around and saw that they're still in the same place they were sitting before, so the ruined magazine of some theater.

"Sorry that I had to wake you up, Shir"Michael said.

"No. It's nothing. I think we should go already"Shirley stated.

Since they arrived to LA, their main task was to do reconnaissance missions. They were looking for Chinese and everything what they could use and bring it to base.

Suddenly, their communicators started to rang, so they answered the call.

"Viking 6-1, what's your status?"the voice asked.

"Could be worse, Ryan. What's up?"Michael replied.

"W just received new reports. Chinese took Yuma last night and command want you to check the Wall again"Ryan explained.

"Shit. Any survivors?"Shirley asked.

There was a moment of silence, before Ryan replied:

"Negative".

"Darn"Michael stated"Okay, we're coming. We'll be there in next few minutes".

They then heard a sound of something moving rubble. They immediately looked in that direction.

"Let's go check that"Michael ordered.

He took his radio, turned it on and asked:

"Team 2, you're in position?"

"No. We're still outside"Will replied"Have anything?"

"We heard some noise. Going to investigate"Michael replied.

"Okay. We'll secure the exit. Team 2, out"Tiffany said.

They bowed to go under some boards blocking the way, entering the stage covered by curtain.

Michael took his knife and pierced the curtain, then moved the blade down, to open the curtain.

"Okay, go"he said to Shirley.

"Cover me"she replied.

Shirley then went off the stage and entered the main room, where the chairs for audience should be, but instead of this there was a giant pile of rubble from destroyed roof, through which the sun was shining.

They quickly climbed up the pile and entered on less destroyed part of the audience. Then, they moved up the stair to the main tunnel leading to the audience, passing by some old bags and red ropes. Next, they went down another stairs and moved to the doors leading to the main entrance.

"Okay. On my mark"Michael said.

Shirley nodded her head.

"Now!"the boy ordered.

He kicked the door and the two entered the main hall of the theater. There, they found nothing except of abandoned cash register and two…deers, standing in the middle of the hall. Once the animals saw them, they quickly run off the hall, through the main doors.

"6-1, report"Will said through radio.

"Nothing to worry, Will. Just some deers"Shirley reported.

"Okay. We're moving to RP 'Gold'. We'll meet you there"Will ended.

"See you at the Wall"Tiffany added.

Shirley and Michael followed the deers and exited main doors, to enter a giant room. It had a roof in shape of dome, from which some plants were hanging.

"Hard to believe what this city is now"Shirley stated.

"I know. Before the war, I was spending holidays with my family there. I can't believe that this passed"Michael replied.

After exiting the dome covered hall, they entered on the fresh air area and saw it.

The Wall was a giant, around 10 meters high construction with barbed wire on it's top and watchtowers. Everywhere next to the Wall were standing burned wrecks of cars, trucks and helicopters. Not only military, but also civilian. Also, there were multiple holes in the upper part of the Wall.

"There it is. Looks awful, but still standing"Michael stated.

"And thank Gods for this"Shirley added.

Will and Tiffany then exited from behind some destroyed vehicles and came up to the two.

"Mich"Will said.

"Will. Area is secured?"Michael asked.

"Just a minute. We still have to check this part of Moro"Tiffany replied, pointing behind the wrecks of cars.

"We'll take the left side. It should go fast. We met at the gas station"Michael ordered.

"Sure thing"Will replied.

Two teams again separated and went different ways.

Shirley and Michael met an road collapsed by O.D.I.N. Strike. Where should be the street, was now only a little canyon to which water from sewers was going through the pipes.

The two quickly defeated this obstacle by jumping down on some 'island' over the street canyon and then again jumping on the second side of the street. Next, they came up to the doors of some bar and opened them. They entered inside. And saw a Chinese soldier standing right next to the giant hole in wall of the building.

"Take him out"Michael ordered.

Shirley aimed her M4A1 at the Chinese and pulled the trigger, only to see the enemy's head exploded. After that, another soldier came out of hiding to see what happened to his comrade. He was taken out by Michael. Another came up the stairs but immediately Shirley shot him in the neck.

In the neighboring house, from which only back and frontal parts left, group of three Chinese noticed this and opened fire. Shirley and Michael quickly hid behind a little wall and returned fire, quickly taking care of the remaining three.

"Chinese patrol. Fifth since we get there"Michael noticed.

"I know. Something's not good is going on here"Shirley replied.

Michael took his radio and said:

"6-2, we just encountered another Chinese patrol. Let's meet in 'Overwatch' point, we need to regroup".

"OK. We're en route"Will replied.

They then moved further, until they stopped next to the unfinished wall, but Michael simply took care of it with a kick. After jumping down, they met with Will and Tiffany next to destroyed delivery car.

"You're okay?"Tiffany asked.

"It could be worse. But were OK"Shirley replied.

"Hey, look!"Michael said.

Everyone looked at the gas station he was pointing. There, they were seeing Chinese troops pointing their guns at heads of some civilians kneeling in front of them with arms behind their heads.

"What are they doing?"Shirley asked.

As per her words, Chinese pulled the trigger and the four saw as the bodies of civilians fall on the ground.

"They're killing civilians?!"shocked Will exclaimed.

"Hell no!"Michael said.

He fired his M4 at the Chinese. The rest did the same and before Chinese could notice where the shots come from, they all were dead.

"Okay, let's check this now"Michael ordered.

He entered into the tall grass, which was surrounding the place, and when they came through it, the stood over the bodies of civilians.

Tiffany tightened her fists. Shirley put her hand on Tiffany's arm.

"We couldn't help them"the Witch stated.

Then everyone's communicators started ringing so they answered the call.

"This is private Kimball to all units in the area! We encountered Chinese squad at the Wall! We need backup! I'm repeat, we've been attacked!"Ryan exclaimed.

"Copy that, Ryan. We're coming. Mark your position with smoke"Michael replied.

"Sure thing! I'm marking our position with green smoke!"Ryan replied.

"Let's go"Michael said to the rest.

Right then, they saw a green smoke lifting up from behind the nearby street uplifted by O.D.I.N. They moved through the big dry concrete canalization pipe, right when Chinese NH-6 Little Bird flew past it.

They then entered a dry river trough and saw the American troops engaging the Chinese. Shirley quickly took the cover behind burned car in the place of dead soldier. Immediately a grenade landed next to her. She grabbed it and threw back. Grenade exploded in the air.

"Good that you came on the party!"the boy with short black hair and brown eyes said.

"I couldn't miss it, Ryan!"Michael replied to him.

Michael then leaned from behind the concrete barrier and fired at Chinese standing at the bridge. He saw as two of them fall down after his bullets hit them. The boy immediately hid, when the fire from the Little Bird literally bounced off his helmet.

"That was close"he stated.

Fortunately, the helicopter just flew away.

Will took his grenade and threw it towards the Chinese hiding behind destroyed civilian ambulance. He saw the flash of grenade explosion and as two enemies flew from behind the wreck. Tiffany fired her M16 at enemy running from one cover to another. She saw as he fells and starts to collapse in convulsions. Shirley activated her shield to deflect bullets and quickly returned fire, killing another one. Ryan also leaned from behind the cover and aimed his Scar at Chinese on the bridge and fired, bringing it down.

Right then he noticed as one of Chinese stands up. Ryan quickly took his knife and threw it in that direction.

Shirley saw as the blade passes next to her and as it hit the Chinese in the neck.

"(whistle) Nice one. Straight in the neck"Shirley said.

"I'm fucking awesome!"Ryan exclaimed.

The squad then started to move forward. Chinese, on the other hand, started to fall back until they finally decided to run.

"We let them run?"Michael asked.

"No"Tiffany replied"Shirley. Take them out".

Shirley smiled. She activated her White Rabbit familiar, focused her thoughts on the Chinese and before anyone could blink, she ran after the escaping enemies with enormous speed. There was a short series of shots and Shirley was again standing next to the group.

"Done?"Ryan asked.

As he and his squad were also students of US Army High School, they knew about Shirley and her 'Witchness', so seeing this didn't surprised them

"Done. Quickly, like I do things"Shirley replied.

"I must admin. Your Speed Boost is really helpful"Ryan admitted.

"True. Thanks to this, I never get to school late"Shirley replied.

"Okay, now, let's go. I'm sure there'll be more of them"Will said.

They ran under the bridge. Ryan came up to the enemy he killed with knife throw and took the blade out of his neck. The squad stopped next to two Cougar 4x4s standing next to the Wall's gate. The gate's checkpoint was decorated with both USA and California's flags.

But then, they heard a sound of helicopter's rotors.

"More choppers incoming!"one of Ryan's soldiers reported.

Michael looked around and noticed a MAAWS laying on a crate. He turned to Shirley.

"Shirley! Take this missile launcher! We'll be covering you"he ordered.

The Witch approached the missile launcher and took, laying her M4A1 in it's place. The rest of the squad hid behind the covers.

"How to use it?"she asked.

"This launcher has a laser guided missiles. Just keep the targeting laser on the target and the missiles will follow it"another Ryan's soldier explained.

"(whistle) If I could use this against Neuroi"Shirley said.

As she said that, the Little Bird returned and started to unload soldiers out of him.

The Liberian Witch aimed the MAAWS at the chopper and pulled the trigger. Missile flew towards the Little Bird. Helicopter pilot noticed it and wanted to fly away, but Shirley followed the instructions given by Ryan's man and kept the laser at the helicopter. Not so long after she fired, she saw as the missile hit the Little Bird and the helicopter explode.

"In the target!"Shirley exclaimed and started to load another missiles.

In the meantime, the rest of Marines was firing at the the enemy soldiers. Michael killed two enemies, which fell off the bridge. He was followed by Tiffany and Ryan.

"WZ-10 incoming!"Will said.

WZ-10 then flew over their heads and stopped over the bridge. He fired it's gun and the Marines, forcing them to hide. However, Shirley didn't hid and fired the missile at him. The pilot started to fly left to evade the missile, but Shirley lead the laser straight towards the assault chopper. But the missile only damaged the side of machine, in which a giant hole was now.

"Come on, Shirley! Hit this sucker one more time!"Tiffany said.

The Witch laid down on the ground to take cover from the chopper's gun fire and took another missile laying next to the crate. She loaded it and again leaned and aimed the launcher, firing the missile. She tracked the WZ-10 evading maneuvers and saw a flash of light, when the missile hit the cockpit.

Now, WZ-10 started to spin around and to lower it's altitude. The falling machine crashed into the bridge and the whole construction collapsed, borrowing the Chinese on it under the rubble. Some others, which survived, started to run away, but they didn't escaped the fire of Marines.

When everything became quiet, Michael approached Ryan.

"Ryan, you and your men will take care of transport"he ordered.

"Sure. Let's go, boys!"Ryan ordered to his troops.

"Shirley, Tiffany. You'll go with Ryan and Sid. Will and I will go with Diaz. Load up!"Michael said to his squad.

With this order, two squads loaded on Cougars.

"That was a hard one"Tiffany stated"You did well with those choppers".

"Thanks"Shirley simply replied.

The gate then started to open. When it happened, behind it they saw more American soldiers going outside and two more MRAPs guarding the gate.

Their MRAPs just drove down the river trough.

20 minutes later…

10:36

Fort Santa Maria, Los Angeles

Two Cougars were moving down the street of one of LA's neighborhoods. Shirley was looking around, seeing balconies of houses decorated with barbed wire, sandbags on the street and soldiers everywhere. On the street, in which they were about to turn, the M1A2 Abrams tank drove by. They, on the other hand, turned in opposite direction. In the meantime, two F-16 flew over them.

MRAPs stopped in front of a garage of one of buildings and everyone left the vehicles.

"Okay. We now going to report everything to commander"Michael said to Ryan.

"Sure. But don't be surprised, when you'll see our new base commander"Ryan replied.

Shirley, Tiffany, Michael and Will looked at each other.

"What do you mean by this?"Will asked.

"You know. Remember that our previous commander stepped on a mine?"Ryan said.

Everyone remembered this. Previous commander was then checking the status of beach defenses. One day, he stepped on a mine and only little pieces left after him.

"And can you tell us, who is it?"Shirley questioned.

Ryan only gave them a smile, before he, Sid and Diaz went to one of checkpoints.

The four entered the garage and passed by mechanics repairing a Humvee. Next, they went to neighboring storeroom, where they found stairs. They climbed on them and found themselves in a room filled with computers and one big screen, presenting the map of United States and terrains now occupied by China. On other screens they could see also map of USA, but with red dots representing American ICBM silos.

"Captain Johnson"one of analysts said as he stood up from behind the desk.

"Vic. We came to report the situation. Where's our new commander?"Michael replied.

"He's right there"Vic replied.

With these words, the man entered the room through the main doors. After Michael, Will and Tiffany saw him, they just held their breathes from surprise. Only Shirley didn't knew him.

It was a black skinned man, somewhere after the 60s, dressed in green US Army T-Shirt and camouflage pants.

As he stood in front of four, they all saluted. Shirley did it only because of formalities. The other three did it with visible respect.

"President Obama!"Michael exclaimed.

"Ease, captain. I'm not president anymore. My presidency ended five years ago. Now, call me colonel Obama"Obama said.

The four quickly executed the order. Now, surprise was visible on Shirley's face.

"I never expected to see a black skinned person as a president. In Liberion it's unthinkable"she said, leaning to Tiffany.

"Barack Obama was the first black skinned person to become the president of USA. This election brought a real joy to all of us"the girl explained.

Shirley nodded in understanding. Not once, back in Liberion, she saw as all black persons were treated by white people.

"Something's wrong?"Obama asked.

When Shirley orientated that it was the question directed to her, she quickly shook her head.

"No, Sir. Let's just say that I'm not from here. And that it's complicated"she explained.

Obama nodded his head in understanding.

"I heard about the attack"he then came straight to the bottom.

"It was nothing big. We took care of them as fast as we could"Will replied.

"Come with me"Obama said.

They followed him and exited the command room. Next, entered the stairs on the upper floor.

"Sir, they're killing civilians"Tiffany said.

Former president sighed and replied:

"I know. Our scouts reported this to me. Their patrols are capturing looters and drifters, to know how they get into the city. That's how they captured San Diego in one night".

"We all remember this"Will granted, nodding his head.

The Battle of San Diego was first battle of Chinese Invasion of America's Mainland. Chinese literally appeared out of nowhere and destroyed all defenses. Thanks to the O.D.I.N. strike, the job was easier.

"How can we help?"Shirley asked.

Obama entered a little balcony of the building. From there, they could see whole beach, filled with crates, tents serving as barracks and one big building serving as vehicle maintenance station. Next to it was standing MRAP Cougar 6x6 and Abrams tank was driving by. Trenches cut the beach in many places. Nearby amusement park was looking like a grim ruins. In the distance, in the sea, was floating single _Ticonderoga_ -class cruiser. Two A-10s flew over their heads, while two Black Hawk helicopter flew over the beach.

"At now? I want you to rest a little. I have for you mission for tomorrow"Obama replied.

"Mission?"interested Tiffany asked.

Former president leaned back on the balcony's barrier and said:

"You're going to No Man's Land".

An awkward silence hung in the air. No Man's Land was a giant belt of destruction caused by O.D.I.N. strike. It stretched between LA and San Diego. Once beautiful beaches, now were deadly trap filled with mines and barbed wire. At now, NML was on Chinese said of the frontline.

"More precisely, to San Diego. One of our special operators was captured in that region"former president continued"I want you to save her".

"Is she important?"Shirley asked.

Obama nodded and said:

"It's my daughter Malia".

The silence appeared again.

"Of course we save her. You have our word"Michael promised.

"Good"Obama replied"You're moving out this midnight".

After he said that, all four left the command building.

14:11

Shirley's Temporary Apartment

Thanks to that O.D.I.N. was destroyed, before he could raze the city with the ground, some flats managed to survive and now, they were occupied by soldiers. Shirley was among them.

She opened the doors and entered the flat. She turned the light on. It was possible, because army managed to create a personal power plant powered with Nitrosium.

The Liberion With took off her boots and vest. Then unbuttoned her uniform and entered the living room. Once there, she looked at photo of family, standing on the shelf. It was family that lived there earlier.

After she sat on the sofa, she took the TV control and turned it on. The only channels it had were CNN, American Forces Network and CBS News, because army had more important problems that TV in soldiers occupied flats.

The CNN intro appeared and soon, the reporter said:

"Good afternoon. Today, we wanted to present current situation on Asian Front to you. After the liberation of Japan, Coalition troops started to prepare for naval invasion of South Korea. Australian forces managed to liberate Darwin and end Chinese presence on the continent. Lately, joint forces of Indian and Indonesian troops landed on Indian subcontinent…"

Shirley changed the channel.

This time, she saw intro of American Forces Network news and reporter continued this, what he started before Shirley changed the channel:

"…pushed Chinese troops out of Alaska and landed on Hawai'i Island, starting the liberation of Hawaii. Last night, however, Chinese forces entered and captured city of Yuma, Arizona. In Fortress LA, our military is still standing against outnumbering enemy forces…

She again changed channel on CBS News:

"…forces started the siege of Paris…

This was something Shirley waited on. From last week, there was no news about anything what's going on in Europe.

"…both French Social-Communist Republic and People Liberation Army forces were captured in encirclement in the city. Day after day, 4th School Fleet and Coalition Regular Army troops bombard them with artillery fire, trying to force them to capitulation…"

The phone then rang. Shirley reached her pocket and took her phone out of it, to see who's calling. A smile appeared on her face, when she saw Lucchini's number.

"Finally!"Shirley whispered.

During their time in Military High Schools, adjutants of General Council members taught Witches how to use phones. Shirley also took some kind of lessons from Tiffany, to know how to use it.

She moved the green button and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello!"Lucchini's voice rang on the other side.

"Hi. What are you doing there in Europe?"Shirley asked.

"Eh, nothing special. Besiege Paris, trying to get rid of French Commune. Such things"she replied.

Shirley nodded her head.

"And how are others doing?"

"Major, Perrine and Erica still gain air superiority for us. We, here on the ground, just try to pierce their barricades on the streets"Lucchini explained.

"I heard in news" the Liberian Witch then fell silent"Tomorrow I'm going to No Man's Land".

"Where?"Lucchini questioned, with surprise in voice.

"It's destruction belt between LA and San Diego, made by O.D.I.N. strike. Or, as Michael said it 'Shittiest place on West Coast'"she explained.

"Sounds scary"Romagnian With granted.

"I know. But we try to make it quick. We have to save special operator captured there"Shirley presented the mission objective to her friend.

Then, on the second side, Shirley heard muffled voice.

"I have to go now. Barkhorn is calling me. See ya!"Lucchini ended.

Shirley hid her phone and returned to watch the news.

August 20, 2022

19:32

San Diego, building in front of Qualcomm Stadium

It was already whole day of San Diego mission. Michael, Shirley, Will and Tiffany were watching the stadium and, at the same time, taking a little break, exhausted everything what happened when they moved out.

After they moved yesterday, at midnight the helicopter dropped them on the city limits. By first six hours, they were breaking through the suburbs, filled with Chinese. They had to look out on enemy patrols and crawl in the high grass. They even encountered a wolf pack, which was hunting in the suburbs.

Fortunately, they were saved by team of Delta Force operating in that region. It was led by senior private Trudy Kimball, Ryan's sister. Next, they had another hours of breaking through the main city. During this, Shirley saw, that Trudy is as good at fighting with usage of throwing knives as her brother.

After they broke through, they found this building and set up an observation post in destroyed building used by Chinese as vehicle maintaining station.

Now, they were looking at stadium with one of it's walls completely destroyed and it's sward filled with Chinese barracks, helipads and trucks.

"How do we have to go through this?"Shirley asked.

"I dunno. Maybe guys from Delta have something on this"Tiffany replied.

"Of course, we have"Trudy said.

The four Marines turned their heads, to see the girl with black hair, tied in one pigtail and brown eyes, wearing Delta Force uniform. With her was one of her soldiers, who carried the big bag by all this time. Now, he put the bag on the floor in front of them.

"What is inside?"Michael asked.

"Show them"Trudy ordered to the soldier.

He took the bag and opened it.

Inside, there was a tripod, a device resembling an tablet and something resembling a long barrel. Soldier took it and started to connect barrel and tripod into one part.

"What is it?"Shirley asked with interest.

"It's remotely controlled sniper riffle. We can use it to cover our retreat from there, when we save president's Obama daughter"Trudy explained.

Except of the four Marines, Delta Force troops were only insiders, who knew about their mission objective.

Shirley didn't told them, that Lucchini knows about it too, because there was no need for this.

"Okay, now, let's find Malia"the soldier mounting the RC sniper riffle said.

He took the tablet resembling device and turned it on. On the screen appeared the view from riffle's camera, presenting this what they were seeing. In the middle was the viewfinder, with air temperature in the upper right corner, wind speed and humidity in both down corners. On both sides of the screen was presented tilt of the barrel and the compass at the top of the screen. To control the riffle, he had two joysticks: one to turn it in direction and second to zoom and dismiss.

"RC sniper ready. Let's now find her"he said.

"Look closely. We need to track her"Will said.

Soldier moved the zoom joystick and looked around the stadium. Everywhere he was seeing only enemy patrols, until his sight stopped on four Chinese playing football. Two of them were just kicking the ball from one to other, while another two was goalkeeping and trying to score goals.

"Well. I see that they don't care"the soldier stated.

"Nothing. Field is clear"Michael stated.

In the meantime, Shirley was looking around the place. Suddenly, she saw something on the first floor.

"I have something on the first floor. Just over the first base"she said.

Soldier moved the RC sniper camera in that direction. He then gasped. Others leaned over the control screen.

On the screen they could see a Chinese base commander, beating a young woman sitting on a chair. When they looked closer, they recognized her.

"It's Malia"Trudy said.

Then, another soldier hit Malia in back of her head with his weapon's flask. Two others grabbed her and moved inside.

"They're moving her. We need to hurry"Tiffany stated.

"The convoy is coming"another Delta Force soldier said.

It was true. Sound of engines was becoming louder and louder.

"Remember the plan. Will, take the grenade launcher"Michael ordered.

Will then took Mk32 grenade launcher laying under the wall.

"It's good idea to blow those trucks right now?"worried Shirley asked.

"Easy. Those grenades are detonated remotely. We mark some trucks and detonate later"Trudy explained.

Shirley though about for a moment and nodded.

"Sounds good to me"she stated.

When she said that, the first truck appeared on the road. Will fired the grenade at it. The explosive easily stuck on the vehicle's armor. He did the same with another five trucks. When he ran out of ammo, he loaded only two more grenades and fired at two armored cars.

"Convoy just drove by"RC sniper operator said"Let's move".

They exited their hideout and moved down the pile of rubble.

In that moment they heard a sound of giant jet engines. When they looked up, they saw formation of five Chinese transport aircraft.

"They started. Something's happening"Michael stated.

"Surely this is not something cool for us"Will added.

Four Marines and three Delta troopers came up to one Chinese truck and armored car waiting for them. Ext to trucks were laying bodies of Chinese soldiers.

Shirley opened the truck's door and entered the vehicle on the passenger side. Will sat behind the wheel.

"Okay. We have to be hurry. The plan is that we attack at the first base, then move up to the first floor"Will explained.

"Sounds easy"Shirley replied.

Two trucks then moved down the street. Next, they turned into the road leading to the camp.

"Okay. Be ready to set the fireworks up"Trudy said to Shirley via com.

Shirley reached one of her pockets in vest and pulled out the detonator.

"Now!"Trudy ordered.

Shirley pressed the button and trucks around the camp started to explode. She then threw the detonator on the ground and took her M4, aimed at Chinese and fired through the front window, breaking it. Meanwhile, Will maneuvered between the vehicles and soldiers, driving over them when he could.

Then, when they reached the first base, the vehicles turned into the fans's seats and drove through them, breaking the grille separating the seats and atrium behind them.

They quickly left the vehicles and landed in a firefight with Chinese.

Shirley fired at two enemies coming down the stair. She saw red mist coming out of their heads and as their bodies fall on the ground.

"Malia is at the end of this atrium! Let's go!"Michael said.

He saw enemy hiding behind the popcorn machine. He aimed his M203 grenade launcher at it and fired. The machine, with soldier hiding behind it, was blown up into pieces. Trudy and one of her soldier caught another enemy in cross fire, while Tiffany used her knife to slash the throat of Chinese that came close to her. Will fired at enemy hiding behind weapon crate, when he leaned, and saw his head explode.

Soon, there was quiet.

"Okay, move forward!"Trudy said.

Two groups moved up the stairs, then another and stood in front of the doors.

"They probably keep Malia there"Tiffany said.

"Lopez, check it with RC sniper"Trudy ordered to him.

Lopez took out the sniper control device and turned it on. He set it up on the corridor behind the doors.

"We start after your shot"Will said.

RC sniper aimed at one of Chinese and Lopez pressed the button. Rifle fired and one of Chinese fell on the ground.

The doors opened and two groups entered inside, firing at the Chinese. In few seconds, they cleared the corridor, with only one enemy left. But on his arm was not only Chinese, but also American flag. Trudy grabbed him by the vest and set up under the wall, lifting him up a little. She took the knife and put to his throat.

"Where is she?!"Trudy shouted into his face.

"You have to move down this corridor and next through the magazine!"he exclaimed.

Girl nodded her head and her knife touched soldier's neck.

"Fucking traitor"she said.

"Wait, no…!"

Before he could end, the blade opened his throat.

Once they moved down the ruined corridor, the missile flew right between Shirley and Lopez. They quickly ran towards the lower place to hide.

"Lopez!"Trudy shouted.

Soon, four RPG troopers were eliminated by RC sniper.

"Clear!"Shirley said.

They jumped off the fans's seats to the place under it. There, they found a gate opened a little, so they could see boots of enemies through the chink.

"Aw, crap. Enemy patrols. Dozen or so of them"Lopez stated.

"We don't have a time for that. Put on masks and throw tear grenade inside"Michael ordered.

Everyone took their gas masks and put on their faces. Next, Shirley, Lopez and Tiffany took the tear grenades and threw them inside. Gas from them completely covered the chink.

Then the doors on the left side of the gate opened and two Chinese ran out of them.

"Help us!"one of them shouted.

Lopez fired his AAC Honey Badger at the two. Michael came up to the gate and fully opened it, showing Chinese coughing and screaming in pain. Shirley and Trudy quickly silenced them and the teams moved forward.

Another enemies started to ran out of hiding, but were immediately killed by Tiffany, third Delta trooper and Will.

They started to move forward through the magazine, not meeting more resistance. They took the masks off and entered the stadium conference room.

Next, Marines and Delta troopers moved into the corridor lightened by red flares and stopped in front of doors at the end, next to a hole in the wall.

"They have to keep her there"Trudy stated.

"Okay, you stay here. Me and Shirley will see if there's another way"Michael said.

Others just nodded their heads.

"You and me, Shir"Michael said, taking a flare and his pistol.

"Sure"Shirley replied.

The duo moved through the hole in the wall and leaned to come under some ceiling beam. Next, they heard footsteps in front of them.

Michael stopped Shirley with his hand and threw flare forward. Female Chinese soldier flashed in the light of flare and before she could orientate, Michael stabbed her in a chin.

"You're okay?"he asked Shirley.

"Yeah. Let's move forward"she replied.

In another corridor, they found the doors they were looking for. They stood on both sides of them and connected with rest.

"We found the back door"Michael reported"Wait on our mark".

"Guessing. We treat them with gas first?"Shirley asked.

Michael only smiled, when he took his second Colt M1910.

"You read my mind"he stated.

They both put the masks on again and ordered others to do it.

Shirley repealed the doors and threw gas grenade inside. Next, she showed three fingers and tightened her fist, signalizing to start. Michael stood in front of doors and opened them with kick, showing the room filled with 15 Chinese, all of them suffocating with gas.

Another doors opened and rest of the team entered. In next few seconds, the whole cloakroom was filled with dead enemies.

"There she is!"Lopez announced.

In the next room, they found Malia, laying on the ground in the pool of blood. Lopez came up to her and lifted her up.

"Is she okay?"Trudy asked.

"No"he replied, pointing at gunshot wound in her left hip"She lost too much blood. She'll not survive".

"Sons of a bitches"Tiffany said.

Then, former president's daughter lifted her arm and pointed at the wall.

"They…want to…take LA…"she whispered.

Her arm then freely subsided.

"Come on, hang in there"Lopez said, checking her pulse. He closed his eyes with resignation"She's gone".

"Damn it"Trudy whispered.

In the meantime, Michael came up to the wall pointed by Malia. There was a map of Fort Santa Maria, with marked defenses and attack ways. He called Trudy to see this.

"It's a plan of attack on Santa Maria"she stated.

"Shit. We need to hurry"Michael stated.

"Okay, everyone. Michael, take Malia's body. We need to get to LA quickly"Trudy ordered.

Michael done the order and took Malia. Everyone left the cloakroom. When they turned into exit on the sward, the doors opened. Lopez was unfortunate to land right on the fire line, when bullets flew through his body from head to legs. He fell on the ground.

"Shit, Lopez is dead!"third Delta trooper said.

"I see! We don't get out of here without RC sniper!"Trudy shouted back.

As she said that, Shirley activated her shield and ran over the Lopez's body, at the same time taking the sniper control.

She turned it on and set up on the exit. She fired and killed two Chinese blocking the way. Michael then hanged Malia's body to third Delta trooper, while Trudy ordered him to move forward, as Shirley continued to kill Chinese with sniper, clearing the way to NH90 helicopter. The two entered the helicopter and flew away.

"Now, we need transport for us!"Will stated.

He then noticed an EC145 preparing for take off. He ran towards it and jumped into the cabin, before it could take off.

"Oh no, you don't"he said, putting gun to pilot's head"Now land".

Pilot listened to him and rest of Marines quickly moved to the helicopter and entered, while Will killed the pilot and took the pilot's seat.

"Shirley, cover us with RC sniper!"Michael, sitting in second pilot place, said.

The Witch turned it again and at first eliminated two soldiers sitting in armored cars gun nests.

"How do you learned to use it?"Tiffany asked.

"I just watched Lopez!"Shirley quickly replied.

She continued to snipe enemies, until Obama's voice appeared in their communicators:

"I already got report from senior private Kimball".

"We're really sorry because of…"Michael tried to say, but Obama cut him off:

"That's doesn't matter now! Chinese division is on it's way to Fort Santa Maria! You need to be hurry!"

Next, there was quiet.

"Shit, we really need to be fast"Will stated.

They continued to fly, until the RC sniper went out of range.

August 21, 2022

08:24

En route to Fort Santa Maria

They were already flying 12 hour from San Diego. This took them so long from two reasons. First was that EC145 was slower than Black Hawk. Second was that they had no other choice, but to stop on 3 hours rest.

But once they crossed the Wall line, they saw that the battle was already ongoing.

Chinese fleet was engaging American ships, at the same time firing it's guns at beach defenses. Of course, American soldiers were firing back.

When the helicopter with Chinese markings started to land, some soldiers on the ground aimed at them, but were stopped by Ryan.

"Don't shoot! They're allies!"he said.

When machine touched the ground, four Marines left it and came up to Ryan.

"What's the situation?!"Michael asked.

"They're trying to break through, but we're doing our best to stop them! Command want's more troopers on the beach!"Ryan replied.

"Of course! Tiffany, Will! You will protect evacuation of wounded! Shirley, you're going with me!"Michael ordered.

They only nodded and ran in opposite direction.

When Michael and Shirley ran through the medical tent, the boy contacted with Command:

"Command, how's the situation?"

"We need more troopers on the frontline to maintain the beachhead! But we're still falling back!"Command replied.

"Copy that. We're going there"Michael then reminded something"What about colonel's Obama position?"

"There was a team protecting this position. We don't have contact with them from last 20 minutes"Command explained.

They stopped next to the stair, then climbed them. They saw some Regular Army soldiers firing at the Chinese from building's balcony.

"Shirley, take that M134!"Michael ordered.

The Witch came up to the minigun mounted on the balcony's barrier, while Michael contacted command again.

"Command, where's air support?"he asked.

"A-10 drones are back in base. They need some time to refuel and reamr"Command replied.

"Tell them to be hurry, or in other way we lose the beach!"

Shirley was still firing at the Chinese hiding behind concrete blockades on the beach and wreck of Abrams tank. More and more choppers started to appear and unload soldiers, while Z _ubr_ -class hovercrafts hit the beach, also unloading troops. She even manged to shot down one helicopter.

"They're falling back!"one of sergeants said.

But then, hovercrafts fired red smoke grenades and started to fall back.

"Enemy is marking position with red smoke! Prepare for artillery strike!"Shirley ordered.

As she said that, enemy ships shelled the beach with their main guns. When this stopped, WZ-10 helicopter appeared and started to fire at their position.

"Command, enemy choppers are shelling our position! When the drones will appear, over?"Michael asked Command.

"A-10 drones are en route. They'll reach tour position in 30 seconds"Command replied.

"Command, we're loosing the beach! We need those drones NOW!"Shirley exclaimed to Command.

Then, the WZ-10 aimed it's gun straight at the balcony on which they were standing.

"Heads down!"the Witch shouted.

She did this in last moment, because bullets flew right over her helmet. Unfortunately, not everyone was so luck and two soldier been changed into red pool.

"Drones are in position, they're awaiting for target"Command announced.

"Drones are ready, Shir! They're waiting on you!"Michael said.

Shirley then orientated that she still have RC sniper control device. She turned it on and saw a view from A-10 camera on the screen. She aimed it's GAU-8 gun at the helicopter and fired. Soon, the wreck crashed on the beach. Additionally she also destroyed one tank.

"10 confirmed kills! Excellent attack!"said sergeant standing next to her"Another helicopter!"

This time, an Mi-35 appeared. Shriley again used the A-10 drones and destroyed it.

But out of nowhere, a missiles appeared. It hit straight in the balcony supports, so whole construction started to fall down.

"Look out!"Shirley shouted.

After she said that, her vision went black, when she hit the ground.

She felt Michael shaking her, so she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Listen, I just got news! Drone Control Center defenders report high casualties! They need support!"he exclaimed.

She shook er head and replied:

"Sure".

Other Marines joined them and started to fire in the direction of trenches, where Chinese were breaking through.

"This is sergeant Hammer from Drone Control Center! We're surrounded, when will you reach us?"Hammer asked.

"We're coming, Hammer! Just least a little longer!"Michael replied via radio.

"All units, ours are breaking through trenches to Drone Control Center. Don't shoot at em"Command ordered.

Whole squad then ran into the trench and opened fire at enemies on the other side.

"Let's go! If we lose the tower, those A-10s will not help us anymore!"Shirley ordered.

Leaning from the cover, she activated her shield to deflect enemy bullets. Then, she returned fire and saw enemy soldier falling into the trench. Michael fired his M4 at Chinese with RPG, hitting him in the head.

He then looked in the direction of nearby lifeguard tower and saw a hovercraft coming in their direction.

"Command, we got hovercraft closing on our position! Tell the forward squads to start firing at him!"he said.

"Copy. They just been informed"Command replied.

Shirley and two other soldier turned into another branch of the trench, where the M113 VADS AA gun was surrounded by Chinese. The three fired at them, killing whole group.

"Tank just drove off of hovercraft! There's no way MG could pierce through the armor!"corporal Hudson, one of forward teams leaders, informed.

"Easy, I got this"Shirley provided, when she returned to the main branch of trench.

She once again took the A-10 control and looked at the tank from their perspective. GAU-8 fired at the tank, with it's bullets easily piercing it's armor.

"Tank destroyed! Great shot!"Hudson reported.

 _Zubr_ -class hovercraft just moved over the trench.

"Hey, Michael"Shirley called the boy"How far is the Drone Control Center?"

"Just behind this turn"he replied.

And was right. Once they turned on the next turn, they saw Chinese firing a t the control tower. To make the matter worse, a WZ-10 helicopter was supporting them.

Marines quickly hid behind the cover, with helicopter starting to fire at them.

"Drone Control! We need air support to eliminate enemies! It's the only way we'll be able to break through!"Shirley explained.

"Of course!"Hammer replied"I'm setting new course for drones! The tower will be in fire radius, so look out how are you firing!"

"Don't worry about it!"Michael provided"She was taking care of smaller targets!"

With the help of drones controlled by Shirley, helicopter, two tanks and dozen or so of soldiers were eliminated.

But immediately helicopter and soldiers were replaced by new ones.

"C'on Shirley! Hit 'em one more fucking time!"Michael said.

Once again, Shirley took the control device and with usage of GAU-8 destroyed the helicopter.

But then, drones got the missile warnings. She saw as second drone got hit and shot down. The same fate met the drone she was controlling.

"Drone 1 and 2 down! We've lost air support!"Hammer reported.

It was the last thing Hammer reported.

Naval fire shelled the control tower. Whole construction changed into pieces of glass and metal. This what left standing, was just eaten by fire.

"Damn it"Michael snarled"Command, Drone Control Center destroyed".

"Any survivors?"Command asked, with voice showing that he expected only one answer.

"Negative"the boy replied.

Command then set up open channel for everyone:

"All units, we lost drones support. Fall back on the second line and evacuate all wounded".

"Command, this is major Orlando! Enemy forces broke through the Wall! We can't stop them!"Wall Defense commander reported.

With Command orders and information from Wall Defense commander, everyone started to leave the beach, under the fire of soldiers, tanks, helicopters and ships. Many of them didn't even put their foot on the street.

Shirley and Michael passed by destroyed MIM-72 anti-air missile launcher and, much to their joy, found Will, Tiffany, Ryan and even Trudy, hiding behind some concrete blockades on the street.

When bullets flew next to them, they hid behind second one.

"I'm happy you're alive"Shirley said to them.

"Sure. We tried to break to colonel's Obama position, but we were stopped by those guys"Trudy replied.

"They're sliding down ropes from this chopper"Will said, pointing over the blockade.

Shirley leaned a little, seeing enemy soldiers, sliding down the ropes. Fortunately, chopper just left and turned on another target.

"Okay, follow me!"she said.

The Liberion Witch then jumped from behind the cover, activating her shield. Five other soldiers hid behind her and started to move forward. In short intervals, they were leaning out and firing at Chinese, while Shirley was using her shield to protect them.

"Faster!"she said through tightened teeth.

Michael fired at one of last Chinese, standing on a balcony. He saw as Chinese shakes from shots and falls down. Will fired at the Chinese standing next to the entrance to colonel's position. Bullets made a red stain on the closed garage doors, when they pierced the enemy.

"We got enemy units following us. We need to be hurry"Michael said.

They came up to the doors and removed dead body. Next, Michael, Tiffany and Will opened the gate to the garage. Shirley was first to slid inside. Trudy and Ryan followed her.

"Look out!"Will exclaimed.

As he said it, a missile flew out of nowhere and hit the part of wall over the gate. Whole construction collapsed, blocking the way for the three.

"Michael, Tiffany, Will! Everything's okay?"Shirley shouted.

"Yeah!"Michael shouted back"We find another way inside! Don't care about us!"

Trudy looked at Ryan.

"He's right. Let's go"Trudy said.

"Right behind ya"Ryan replied"Let's move, Shirley".

The Witch once again looked at collapsed entrance and nodded.

"Okay. Go"she said.

With her words, the three moved to the command center. When they entered, everything was already burning and falling apart. They quickly covered their mouth because of the smoke and looked around the room.

"You see colonel somewhere?"Shirley asked.

"No"Ryan replied.

"Let's check upstairs!"Trudy advised.

Shirley directed towards the staircase to the upper floor and quickly climbed it. She came up to the doors to the room.

And was immediately grabbed by collar by Chinese soldier.

Next thing she remembered was flying and crashing into collapsed supporting beams. She then saw as Chinese reaches his back and grabs handle of something.

With hiss, the machete left it's sheath.

The Chinese wanted to swing and slash Shirley. But before he could do it, Ryan and Trudy ran into the room and shoot the Chinese in his arm.

Before he could do this again, Chinese turned around and slashed Ryan's riffle in half. The boy quickly threw his weapon on the floor and reached his knife, with which he blocked the swing of machete. But Chinese hardly kicked Ryan in his crotch and Ryan hissed in pain.

Next, he screamed from pain.

Enemy soldier didn't even payed attention at Trudy firing her riffle at his back, when he lifted Ryan, which arm was pierced with the machete. Trudy then started to reload, when she again looked at it and covered her mouth in shock.

Soldier shook Ryan off of the machete and boy landed on the floor. Next, with one single swing, the machete's blade came through Ryan's head on the eyes line. Part of his head over forehead fell on the ground.

"RYAN!"Trudy shouted with disbelief.

She once again aimed her Honey Badger at Chinese. He, however, was faster and quickly jumped towards Trudy, landing next to her and sank the blade in her stomach. She was feeling as the blade point out off her back.

Soldier too out the blade and Trudy fell on her knees. She put hand in place when the blade pierced her. Next, she felt blade coming through her again. This time, Chinese waved the machete in the way that it cut Trudy from her right shoulder to her left hip. She just fell on the ground.

Shirley then shook herself from the shock, in which she landed, after she crashed in the supporting beams. She reached her holster and took her Colt M1910 off of it. Chinese noticed this and did a fast swing with the machete.

A scream of pain came out of Shirley's mouth, when the blade smoothly came through her skin and bones. She looked right and saw her hand with pistol laying next to her.

Then, Chinese hit it's machete and reached Ryan's knife, which was laying next to his body. He took it, then came up to Shirley and wanted to stab her, but she stopped knife with her left hand. She felt blood on her hand, when the blade cut through her glove and skin, but she didn't care about it.

However, Chinese was stronger and his hand pas pushing the blade down. Not soon after, Shirley felt as blade pierce through her vest, then uniform and finally reaches her body. Her eyes closed, preparing for ending.

"Shirley!"Michael shouted.

In that moment, Michael, Tiffany and Will ran into the room and aimed their riffles at Chinese.

The three unloaded their magazines in him, with bullets hitting his chest, stomach and head. Finally, he fell on the floor and didn't moved anymore.

Tiffany quickly knelt next to Shirley and looked at her wounds.

"Shit you're bleeding. Luckily, it's nothing serious. You'll go out of this"She then noticed Shirley's right hand laying on the floor"Oh no".

Meanwhile, Michael and Will looked at Ryan and Trudy.

"Damn it. I was starting to like them"Michael said.

Right then, the ceiling started to shake. Next, part of it fell out of it's place and landed next to Shirley. The Witch looked up and saw Chinook helicopter with medical markings on it.

Everything went black.

16:02

Medical Chinook hold, New Mexico airspace

Shirley started to open her eyes. The only sound heard in the hold was sound of rotors. She knew that someone more is on-board, because she heard footsteps.

She moved her head in left and saw Michael and Will standing against the wall and Tiffany walking from one side to another. When girl looked at Shirley, smile appeared on her face.

"You finally woke up!"Tiffany exclaimed.

"I just hope you didn't wanted opposite"Shirley joked.

She tried to sit up. But when she put her right hand on the stretcher, she screamed from pain. She looked at it. Another scream came out of her mouth.

Except of right hand, she was seeing white bandage, colored in red, in the place where her hand should be.

All memories returned. She saw Chinese throwing her into collapsed supporting beam. Ryan's head being slashed in half. Trudy being pierced by machete. Chinese cutting her hand off.

"Fuck. Is this really happened to me?"she asked.

"Unfortunately"Michael said.

"We're now returning back to Europe"Will added.

Shirley then reminded.

"What about colonel?"

"He's laying there"Tiffany replied.

The Liberion Witch lifted her head a little and saw Obama laying on the second side of helicopter, with oxygen mask on his face.

"We found him in the same room as you. He's gonna survive"Will provided.

"Good. What about other survivors?"Shirley asked.

Michael, Tiffany and Will looked at each other hesitantly. Shirley immediately felt that something's not right.

"What's wrong?"

"Shir"Michael started"Only we and colonel survived".

Shirley's mind just then exploded. It wasn't been answer she was expecting. She expected to heard about high losses, but not about that, that they're only survivors.

"But…how?"she questioned in disbelief.

"Other evac shoppers were shot down. Those who didn't escaped LA were finished by Chinese"Tiffany explained.

Witch only looked at the roof. She listened to the sounds of rotors, as they continued to fly.

XXX

 **And done. Los Angeles is over. But now, next chapter, we return to Europe and see the Coalition attack on Paris.**

Pokryshkin: This cut hand have to hurt.

Shirley: It surely hurts. How do I have to repair my Strikers now?

 **Easy. Next chapter, you'll receive something, what will help you to live without hand.**

Shirley: Really?

Lucchini: Yeah, really?

 **Yup. But now, see ya later.**

Pokryshkin: Bye.

Shirley: Cheerio.

Lucchini: See ya!


	13. School Chapter 2

**Okay, so it's time for another 'School Chapter'. This will mainly focus on Shirley, after the events of America Libre. So, it's the three weeks before Chapter 9.**

 **But also, some people want to take revenge on our Liberion Witch.**

School Chapter 2

,,Old Scores"

July 20, 2022

12:53

USS _James Madison_ , Swimming Pool

Shirley and Tiffany decided to use some free time, so they went to school swimming pool. They took their swimsuits and were now laying on two sunbeds and taking sunbathe.

"I love when sun is shining like that"Tiffany stated.

"Me too. It's my second favorite thing, after maintaining may Strikers"Shirley replied.

The two then looked at other at the swimming pool.

"Good that America Libre is finally over. I wonder, how South American guys are doing now?"Shirley said.

"Wait a minute"Tiffany said.

She reached her bag and opened it. From inside she took her phone and turned on Instagram.

"I'm watching Moreno's Instagram profile. Let me see…There it is".

Tiffany showed the phone to Shirley. On it, there was a photo of Moreno leaning back on the wreck of Leopard 1 with Chinese star on it's tower. There was also inscription saying _En route to liberate Colombia_.

"The newest one. So I can say that they're doing good"Tiffany explained.

"Heh. Interesting"Shirley simply replied.

"Welcome to the social media era"Tiffany said with smirk.

Right then, they were splashed by water from the pool. They looked at the boy who did it.

"Sorry. I didn't meant to"he said.

"Just go now"Shirley said to him.

The boy quickly sailed away. Shirley then remembered something.

"Tif, your phone…"she said, but Tiffany only waved her hand.

"Nah. Easy. HUAWEI P30 Lite is waterproof"Tiffany provided"But maybe let's go. I already sunbathed enough".

"Besides, because you're black, there will not be mush of this sunbathe seen on your skin"Shirley stated and laughed.

Tiffany did the same.

"Yeah. But I don't care about it much"she replied.

The two started to pack their things, but before they could go, they were stopped by known voice:

"Where are you going, huh?"

Shirley and Tiffany turned and saw a girl with blonde hair tied in two buns and gray-brown eyes, wearing a yellow swimsuit. She was accompanied by two other girls.

"What do you want, Cindy?"disgusted Tiffany asked.

"Why are you so angry? I just wanted to talk to you two. Right, girls?"Cindy turned to two other girls.

They agreeably nodded their heads.

"I don't want to talk to you!"Tiffany exclaimed.

"I wasn't been talking about you. I was talking about her"Cindy pointed at Shirley.

The Witch was confused after hearing this.

"Did I done anything to you?"she asked.

"Not to me, but to my boyfriend. Whole school is still making fun of him. And you know he's coming for you"Cindy said, leaning over Shirley"And if you think that you're have rights to be more popular than me, because you're from different world, then you're wrong. Girls. Let's go".

The three then left Shirley and Tiffany. The Witch looked at Tiffany.

"What was she talking about?"Shirley asked.

Tiffany sighed.

"Remember that guy and his buddies you saved me from when we first met?"Tiffany questioned.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Cindy is his girlfriend and also belongs to Marcus's Gang"Tiffany explained.

"Marcus's Gang?"interested Shirley continued to ask.

"Yeah. They're specializing in this what they done to me. First, they promise to help you with exams, then, they want more and more money from you".

"And what she meant by 'he's coming for you'?"

"You remember that when you defeated Jack, Marcus blended into his pants?"

"Yeah. And what?"

"As Cindy said, since then, whole school is laughing at him. He surely want to take revenge on you. She too, because she thinks that you want to steal all her popularity. And trust me, Cindy really is popular. Actually, she's the most popular girl in school".

"This might be problem"Shirley stated.

"True"Tiffany ended"Let's go now".

With these words, the two took their bags and left the swimming pool.

13:32

Shirley's & Tiffany's Room

As it was fourth day since the end of America Libre, headmaster decided to give a week of break to his students. That's why today, everyone was taking care only of their own affairs.

After they returned from the swimming pool, Tiffany took her MP4 and laid down on her bed, listening to music. In the same time, Shirley was reading some motorization magazines she bought in school's newsagent. But from time to time she looked at Tiffany.

"What are even listening?"Shirley asked.

Tiffany took one of earphones and gave it to Shirley.

"Want to listen?"Tiffany asked.

"Why not?"

Shirley came up and sit on Tiffany's bed. She took the earphone and put inside her ear.

 **Lush Life-Zara Larsson**

"Nice. Who's singing it?"she asked.

"Zara Larsson. A singer from Sweden and my favorite singer too"Tiffany explained" _Lush Life_ is my favorite song of her. Second is _This one's for you_ , which is also an anthem of EURO 2016".

"Good to know"Shirley stated.

The Liberian Witch then looked at shelf's over Tiffany's side of room. On every photo she was standing with two, three and even four persons. But all those persons were different.

"Tell me. How big family do you have?"Shirley asked.

"6 brothers and 8 sisters"Tiffany replied.

Shirley's jaw dropped after hearing this.

"You have 14 siblings?"she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. But some of them, like my brother Tommy or sister Calleigh aren't living with us in New York anymore. They just visit us during Christmas or Thanksgiving. I'm the seventh child"Tiffany explained.

Shirley nodded in understanding.

"Tell me"Shirley started"I was wondering. You had another dream, except of the military?"

"Why you asking me this?"Tiffany replied with question.

The Witch pointed at posters in Tiffany's room. They presented old animated movies like _The Lion King_ , _The Jungle Book_ or _Beauty and the Beast_. Next, she pointed at Tiffany's desk, where some drawings were laying.

Tiffany stretched the back of her head.

"Yeah. I wanted to become animated movies creator"she said.

"Then why you joined army? From what I see, you're really good at this"Shirley stated, looking at the drawings.

The black skinned girl snorted.

"Tell it to my mother. She said that the era of manually drawn movies have passed. But I always wanted to bring this trend back. Because of this, I started an additional art classes in school"TIffany explained"But mum, as former soldier of US Army and veteran from 1st and 2nd Gulf War, said that she'll send me to the military".

"So uncool"Shirley stated.

"I know, right? But well. I had to accept this"She laid back on the bed.

Shirley didn't said anything anymore. She just returned to reading.

13:46

USS _James Madison_ , Storage Deck

All School Carriers had special decks, targeted only to keep least needed things. So, actually, on these decks you could find everything: from some furniture, all the way to various electronics. Literally everything what could be useful or was a trash.

But, they also had the darker side. Storage Decks were commonly used by many gangs, drug dealers or other school criminals as hideouts, magazines or main headquarters. Actually, they were as big as whole ship's length, so it all was there at the same time.

Marcus's Gang used it for the last option, so as the headquarters.

Marcus himself was sitting behind a desk in his 'office'. He called like that a part of the Storage Deck covered by a big metal sheet.

"Tell me, idiots, how is that possible, that everyone still remember this what happened?"he asked his subordinates.

"There are half million people on this ship. We can't force everyone to forget this. Literally everyone heard it till now"Jack tried to justify himself.

"Bullshit! Remember that it's you who lost to her! THEN WHY EVERYONE IS MAKING FUN OF ME!"Marcus shouted out loud, as his voice echoed through the Storage Deck.

"Maybe because Jack didn't blended into his pants"one of subordinates whispered.

"What did you said, Mervin?"Marcus turned his eyes on him.

Honestly, he hated Mervin. This guy was his pain in the ass, because of his honesty and he was always taking only half of the fixed payment. He never liked this kindly rat. Until now, Marcus wondered, why he even accepted him into the gang.

"Well?"Marcus wanted to know.

Mervin then felt as he's sweating.

"I-I meant that…that there are still people that are afraid of you"Mervin replied stammering.

Fortunately, for Mervin, before Marcus asked anythings else, Cindy and her two friends came up to the group.

"Is something wrong, honey?"Marcus asked Cindy.

"No. I just want you to finally do something with this Witch. Everyone is talking about her and more and more less people is talking about me!"Cindy exclaimed.

"We're just thinking how to take care of her"Marcus explained.

"Pathetic"Mervin whispered again.

"What?"Marcus turned to him.

"Nothing!"Mervin replied.

Marcus only sighed.

"Just get the fuck out of here"he said, waving his hand.

Mervin did the order and quickly left.

Then, an idea appeared in Marcus's head.

"You know what? I think I know how to take care of her"he said.

Everyone looked at him.

"You know professor Gentles?"Marcus asked.

"Um, of course. We share money we earn with him. It's still your fault, Sev"Cindy replied.

Sev only threw up his arms.

Professor Wolf Gentles was in charge of training Marines. One day, when Sev was taking money from one of their 'clients' Gentles noticed this. He ordered Sev to led him to the place, where they have their gang's base. Once there, much to everyone's surprise, Gentles told them, that he'll not reveal their activity, if they just share money with him. They agreed to this, of course with reluctance. They still were angry at Sev.

"Well. I think, he can help us with taking care of this Witch"Marcus explained.

"How?"Tilly, one of Cindy's companions asked.

"Let me explain'.

And Marcus started to explain his plan.

13:56

Biology Class

Because of the break ordered by the headmaster, classrooms now served as some kind of meeting rooms, in which students were talking about their own affairs.

"And that's how I broke through the Neuroi, destroying it and breaking the sound barrier"Shirley ended.

She was telling this story to Tiffany and their two other classmates: David O'Connor and Carly Jensen.

"It surely had to hurt"David stated.

"Nah. I managed to activate may shield before I crashed in that thing. The only problem was that when I did this, my swimsuit was ripped off of me. But hey! I became the fastest Witch known"she said"I still don't know, who tinkered with my Striker".

"Yeah. But at least, you survived"Carly stated.

"Good point"Shirley replied, pointing at her"Also, around a month before we were transported here, I did something, nobody though is possible".

She then put her legs on the desk.

"I manged to catch up with Jet Striker, using Propeller Striker"Shirley ended.

"Cool. And how'd you did it?"David asked.

"It was an accident with Jet Strikers. I had to somehow save Barkhorn, because she could crash. She was totally tired and fell asleep. I managed to catch her and detach the Jet Strikers from her"the Witch answered David's question.

Right then, the doors opened and Michael walked in. He walked up to the group and stopped in front of them.

"You need something, captain Johnson?"Carly asked.

"Actually, I came here to talk with Shirley. There's someone, who want to see her fighting abilities himself"he replied.

Shirley looked at Tiffany, David and Carly.

"Really? Who?"she asked.

"Professor Gentles"Michael replied.

"The one responsible for Marines trainings?"Carly questioned.

"The same one. He don't believe that you're so good fighter. He knows about how your achievements as a Witch in Liberion Air Force, because, well, already everyone knows about it, but he's not believing that you can be as good on the ground"Michael explained.

Shirley nodded her head.

"Okay. I will show him"she promised.

"Good. You have to be in forest in next 2 hours"he said.

The Witch again nodded and Michael left.

16:22

Armory

Shirley was preparing for the test of professor Gentles. She had to duel three students: Jason Portmann, Tilly Sigurs and Mervin Watchfire. He also told her that it'll be fight with real weapons, but bullets will be filled with paint.

"Good that Gentles didn't allowed for live rounds"Tiffany said.

"Hey, remember, that I have my shield. I could block live rounds"Shirley said, wearing her vest.

"Oh, right"the girl stated.

There was silence by next few seconds, until Tiffany didn't spoke again:

"By the way. You are sure about that?"

"I told ya. Easy. I can handle this. What can possibly go wrong?"Shirley replied.

At this time, she didn't knew that something will go wrong.

16:58

Ship's forest

The forest on USS _James Madison_ was placed at the same beginning of the mountains. There were many trees that could be used as cover and good position for snipers.

After Shirley came to the place, Gentles informed her that she'll be fighting against three other Marines: Jason Portmann, Tilly Sigurs and Mervin Watchfire.

She knew Tilly, she saw her back at the Swimming Pool. Two boys were unknown to her. They hid in the forest earlier and were preparing ambush on her.

Shirley was already moving through the trees, looking around and waiting on any enemy move.

"Where the hell are they?"she asked herself.

She then heard a sound of breaking branch. She turned in that direction and saw a move. Smile appeared on her face, when she managed to recognize the shape of this strange new helmet used by Mervin. It was some connection of motorcycle and military helmet, because it was shaped like a normal helmet, but with mouth cover, like in motorcycle helmet, and goggles.

Her bullets filled with paint flew in that direction, but only hit the tree. She looked around to notice any another move, but with no result.

Then, a bullet passed by her ear.

She quickly hid behind a tree, when a wave of paint filled bullets hit it. She noticed another fire coming from that position.

" _So there are two of them_ "Shirley though.

Fire stopped. Probably they wanted her to leave hideout and land on the firing line. Fortunately, she seen through their plan.

She jumped out of her cover, her shield activated. It was immediately hit by the bullets. But she saw two of them standing on the bushes line. They continued to fire, bu the shield still continued to deflect the bullets.

Thanks to that they weren't real, it was easier for Shirley.

And then, they both stopped firing. Shirley used it, deactivating her shield, and firing her M4 at the two. They quickly evaded her fire and hid in the bushes.

" _They're running away like ducks_ "she stated in mind.

But then, she noticed one thing.

" _Wait. There was only two of them. Where's the third one?_ "

As answer, she received a red targeting laser pointing at her. Her eyes followed it and noticed a person on the tree.

When she orientated in this, she quickly dodged the laser, right before a bullet hit the place she was standing at.

"Don't run!"Tilly shouted at her.

But Shirley replied with fire and hit Tilly's arm. The girl collapsed from a tree and started to fall. But thanks to her affiliation to school's acrobatic team, she quickly turned in the air and landed on her legs. Then, she ran away too.

After that, Tilly quickly met with Jason and Mervin.

"Shit, that bitch hit me"she snarled.

"It seems like we quickly need to go to the plan"Jason said, reaching his pocket.

He took two another magazines. He threw one of them to Tilly. They both loaded them to their M4s.

"What are you guys planning?"Mervin asked.

"Nothing what you should be interested in"Jason shot back.

The two then just walked away. Mervin had no choice, except of following them.

Meanwhile…

Outside the forest

Michael, Will and Tiffany were watching as Shirley was doing, thanks to the camera she had on her helmet. Everything was live transmitted on laptop in front of them.

"You saw how she handled them! That's what I like to see"Michael said.

"True. Even three of Marcus's people can't handle her"Will stated.

This made Tiffany to turn around.

"What did you just said?"she asked him.

She knew that Tilly was member of Cindy's Squad, but she didn't knew that Mervin and Jason are also from Marcus's Gang.

"Mervin and Jason are in Marcus's Gang. You didn't knew?"Will explained.

Tiffany then turned to the laptop, with worry.

Back in the forest…

Shirley was again looking for the three, trying to not be surprised by Tilly again. But they still were hiding.

"Okay, just go out of hiding"she whispered to herself.

As per her request, Mervin, Jason and Tilly came out of hiding and aimed their weapons at her.

"Okay, let's get…"Shirley tried to say.

But, much to her surprise, when Tilly and Jason fired, their riffles fired real bullets, instead of bullets filled with paint.

"Whoa!"

Witch quickly activated her shield and ran behind a big tree. However, bullets were easily breaking through wood.

Mervin was totally confused by this.

"What the hell are you doing?"he asked, putting his hand on Jason's shoulder.

Jason just shook his hand off.

"Don't bother"he said calmly.

Mervin just furrowed his eyebrow. Quietly, as he could, he withdraw into the bushes. Next, he moved in the direction of Shirley. He emerged from bushes right next to her.

Shirley immediately aimed her gun at him.

"Hey, hey, I want to help you!"Mervin said, raising his hands.

"How do I have to be sure?"she replied.

Then, bullet flew over Mervin's head. He quickly returned fire. Jason's face was then painted in red.

"Oh, I always wanted to do this!"Mervin exclaimed.

Witch nodded her head.

"Okay, maybe you're the better one"she stated.

Then she returned fire, hitting Tilly in neck. But she only laughed.

"You can try! We have real ammo!"Next, she turned on Mervin"And Marcus will be knowing about it, cocksucker!"

After hearing this, Shirley looked at Mervin.

"You're from Marcus's Gang?!"she shouted at his face.

"Honestly, I think about leaving them! I still think why I even joined them!"Mervin shouted back.

Another bullet flew over his head. He leaned again and returned fire.

"Then why didn't you done this?"Shirley asked him.

"Well. I'm afraid"Mervin explained.

Jason and Tilly stopped firing. They took their magazines and looked in them.

"Shit. Empty. What now?"Jason asked.

"We just blow her and this traitor up"Tilly replied.

She then reached her belt and grabbed frag grenade. Next, she threw it towards Mervin and Shirley.

"I think it's clear"Witch stated.

"Then we can…"Mervin tried to say, but stopped.

Frag grenade just landed in front of the two.

"No!"Mervin shouted.

With the speed of blink, Mervin jumped between Shirley and grenade, right when it exploded.

Outside the forest…

Michael, Will and Tiffany with shock observed as Jason and Tilly uses live rounds against Shirley and how grenade exploded. After that, her helmet camera stopped working.

But were also in shock, seeing Mervin helping her. They though that Marcus's Gang only accepts the worst of the worst.

"We need to go!"Tiffany exclaimed.

"Will, call medical support!"Michael ordered to his boyfriend.

"Right on it"Will replied, taking the phone.

With that, they ran in the direction of Shirley and the fight.

Later…

When Michael, Will and Tiffany arrived, they saw Mervin laying on the ground, with many wounds after the grenade. But most horrifying was a giant part of the grenade, which pierced through his goggles and stuck in his left eye.

Shirley was sitting under the tree, while Jason and Tilly were laying on the ground, unconscious.

"Shirley, are you okay?"Worried Tiffany asked.

"Could be worse"Shirley replied, getting up.

Michael and Will looked at Jason and Tilly. Shirley explained:

"I had to knock them out with my riffle. They were too dangerous. If it comes for Mervin, we need to call medical support".

As she said it, two medics with stretcher appeared and started to take care of Mervin.

"I did it en route there"Will explained.

"Gentles said that there's no live rounds"Tiffany stated.

"And you think that who gave them to that two?"Michael asked.

All of them nodded. Gentles was the less liked teacher in school, because of his tendency to break school rules. For example, one time, when he had training with Marines, he gave them real ammo, instead of paint filled. Result was landing of all training contestants in hospital.

"But they showed cleverness"Gentles said, coming out of the wood.

He was teacher, around 63 years old, wearing standard Marines uniform, decorated with medals for his service. His face had many scars, because he was a veteran of both Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

"Cleverness?!"furious Tiffany exclaimed"They wanted to kill Shirley! How this could be called cleverness?!"

"Because they knew how to take care of enemy, when your ammunition runs out. This is always appreciated on my trainings"Gentles explained.

After these words, he came up to Jason and Tilly. He stepped on their backs, which made them wake up with scream of pain.

"Why?!"Tilly exclaimed.

Gentles leaned over her and Jason and whispered:

"Go away from here. Report everything to Marcus".

"S-Sure"Jason replied unsteadily.

The two quickly stood up and ran away, with Tiffany's unpleasant look on them.

"Okay. Let the medics take care of private Watchfire. You can go to your rooms"Gentles ordered.

Without complaining, the four left the place.

21:31

Shirley's and Tiffany's room

"How are you?"Tiffany asked with worry.

"You're asking me for a tenth time"Shirley replied"and I reply for tenth time. I'm fine. Mervin took much of grenade power on himself. Besides, I managed to use my shield. But I still owe him for trying to help me".

Tiffany frowned.

"It's bad idea"she stated"Girl, he's from Marcus's Gang! They're the worst guys in school!".

"I know. But Mervin is…different"Shirley explained.

Only answer from her roommate was snort.

"How can you be sure?"she asked.

"Trust me. I can judge this"Witch stated.

Shirley then grabbed her phone, which signaled that it get message. After opening it, she pressed the messages button and read the SMS:

 _Hi!_

 _Shirley, can we meet tomorrow? I need to ask you something. Lina persuaded me to enlist on vehicle repair classes. We start in the next Monday. Can you to give me some tips about it? Answer quickly!_

"Well. It seems like Lina taught Francesca how to write messages"Shirley stated, after reading.

"Nice. You can now write answer to her"Tiffany said.

Shirley pressed the writing field and started to write a message to Lucchini:

 _Sure thing. We can meet around 14:00. What do you say?_

She sent the message and waited on another Lucchini's SMS. She get it and read:

 _Yes, it can. I'll be on your ship on 14:00. See you tomorrow:)_

Shirley with strange look looked at smiled face at the end of message.

"What does it mean?"she asked Tiffany.

Tiffany looked at her roommate's phone and smiled.

"It's emoji. It's used to express different emotions in SMS"she explained."Probably second lieutenant Tieri tough her it too".

Shirley only nodded, then yawned.

"Let's now get some sleep"she said.

"Sure. Good night, Shirley"Tiffany said and covered with quilt.

Witch did the same and soon, room was filled with the calm breathing of the two.

The next day…

11:21

Marcus's Gang hideout

Marcus was looking at Mervin standing in front of him. Thankfully, wounds were healed quickly with Nitrosium ointment, except of eye, now covered by bandage, and Mervin was released the next morning. He only had to spare himself.

"What do you mean by 'you're leaving'?"Marcus asked.

"This what it means. I'm leaving this shit gang"Mervin explained.

His former boss stood up and approached him.

"No you don't. Until we end with this Witch"he said into Mervin's face.

"Or what will you do to me?"Mervin asked with neutral expression.

"Or we kill your girlfriend".

Mervin then felt as his limbs start to limp.

" _Sandra? But how did he…?_ "he though.

"Oh, how do I know?"Marcus asked, like he read Mervin's mind.

He reached his pocket and took his phone. He turned it on and chosen the gallery. On one of photos, Mervin was hugging and kissing girl in the corridor.

"You though I don't learn about it? One day, Jack sent me this photo. I though I can use it for little deal"Marcus explained.

"Please, I do whatever you want! Just don't hurt Sandra!"Mervin plead him.

"Sure, we don't hurt her. But you have to do something for me"Marcus replied and started to explain.

12:53

Bar&Grill

Shirley was sitting at the table and reading today's edition of Military High School Daily America. She was at the article telling about unsuccessful coup aboard Moroccan Military High School Carrier _Mohammed I_. It was written, that one of school's lieutenant colonels gathered his troops and tried to overthrow the headmaster and replace him with his puppet headmaster. Fortunately, forces loyal to current headmaster learned about it and captured him, before he did anything.

"Hm. I didn't knew, that such things are possible"Shirley whispered to herself.

"Hey. What's up?"someone asked.

Witch lifted her eyes from the newspaper and looked at him. A smile appeared on her face.

"Hey. I see that you're okay"she said, putting the newspaper down.

"Nah. Doctor told me to spare myself. Besides, I didn't exited from it without scratch".

Shirley just then noticed bandage on his eye, which was pierced by splinter.

"Sorry because of eye".

"You don't have to be sorry. I was the one who tried to play hero"Mervin said, waving his hand."BTW. I wanted to show you something".

"What?"Shirley asked with interest.

"You'll see, when we get there"the boy said, insisting.

"Okay, let's go then"she agreed.

She left the newspaper and followed Mervin.

13:32

Corridor on Deck 7

After the walk, Mervin and Shirley already reached Deck 7 and entered empty corridor.

"How far is it?"Shirley asked.

Mervin then stopped.

"We reached it"he stated.

Witch looked around, not seeing anything.

"Are you sure? It's an empty corridor".

The boy sighed. Next, he turned around.

"Shirley. I'm sorry. Very, very sorry"he said.

"Sorry for…"Shirley tried to say, but was stopped.

Out of nowhere, Jack and Sev appeared and grabbed Shirley's arms. Witch tried to free herself, but two boys were too strong.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here"Marcus said, coming out of hiding.

He approached Mervin and put hand on his arm.

"You did well".

Shirley looked at him and expression on her face changed into anger.

"Tiffany was right 'bout you! I though you're different!"she shouted.

Mervin tried to look away, completely ashamed.

"Look at me when I'm talking!"Witch shouted to him.

Before she noticed, Marcus's fist hit her straight in the face.

"Shut up! Only thing I want now, is to retake what you took from me!"he said.

Next, he undercut Shirley's legs bringing her to her knees. He then kicked her in belly. Shirley only released hiss of pain.

"Let her go"Marcus ordered.

Sev and Jack let Shirley go. She just fell on the ground and covered her belly with her arms. Marcus kicked her again.

"You, get the fuck out of here!"he shouted to Mervin.

Mervin slowly walked away, looking at Marcus, Jack and Sev abusing Shirley. Marcus kicked her in face.

"This is for this humiliation you gave me!"Marcus shouted.

"And this"Jack kicked her in back"is for breaking my hand!"

Right then, his arm was hit by bullet.

"You three! Stay away from Shirley!"Tiffany said, continuing to fire.

Marcus and Jack saw as her bullet hits Sev straight between eyes.

"Shit! Jack, let's get the fuck out of here!"Marcus ordered.

Two boys quickly ran away, with Jack's arm dropping blood.

Tiffany quickly ran up and knelt next to Shirley. Her face was covered in bruises and cuts, while she was sure that because of this kicking, Shirley could have internal bleeding.

"Hang in there, I'm calling for help"Tiffany said, taking her phone out.

Later…

Mervin's room

Mervin entered his room. He gave a little smile to Sandra, his girlfriend.

"Hi. Where have you been?"she asked, as she approached him.

She had black hair reaching half of her back. Her eyes had lime shade of green color and on left wrist, she had red bracelet. As her uniform, she was wearing USAF uniform.

"You know, I had…to do something"Mervin replied unsteadily.

He sit down on bed, while she sat next to him.

"Are you okay?"Sandra asked, touching his face.

"Of course. It's just…"Mervin took a deep breath"Sanie, I did something I really regret."  
"Does it have something common with Marcus?"

Mervin looked straight into her beady lime eyes. He knew this gaze. In that way, she was saying 'You can't lie to me. I always know when you lie'.

Boy sighed and said:

"Yes, it does."

Sandra just filed hands on her chest.

"You promised that you end with this. You had to leave the gang"she said with disapproval.

"I know but…"Mervin turned to her"…but he said that he'll hurt you. One day, Jack found us and took photo, which he next sent to Marcus. He used this to lead Shirley into his trap."

"Merv. Listen to me"she said with calm in voice"This is not your fault. You just wanted to protect me. I really appreciate it. But only thing that maid you do that, was fear of Marcus. You can't be scared of him anymore. Remember what you once told me about him?"

Mervin nodded his head.

"Exactly. Now, use this as your weapon. And take this asshole off of his position"Sandra ended.

"Maybe you're right"he said, tightening his fists"Okay, let's do it".

He stood up and came up to the door, but before he left, he turned back to Sandra:

"If I won't make it back, please. Say everything to the headmaster".

"I surely do"Sandra provided.

Mervin left the room and went to meet Marcus face to face.

14:59

Storage Deck

Mervin took the elevator leading to the Storage Deck. Before he went there, he called and talked to few people.

" _I just hope it'll work_ "he though.

Once he entered the Deck, he immediately stopped.

Two boys were pointing their M4s at him. Both were dressed in Delta Force battle uniforms. When Mervin looked closer, he recognized that one of them is Andrew Nester, wanted for quadruple murder of his girlfriend and her lover, as well as two school Military Police officers, and was currently the most wanted criminal on the ship.

" _Oh, right. Marcus always liked to hire criminals as mercenaries and paid killers_ ".

"What do you want?"Nester asked.

"Well, I…"Mervin tried to say, but Nester stopped him:

"I don't care. But maybe you'll care about new hole in your head".

But he's comrade stopped him.

"Damn it, Andrew. It's that guy, Watchfire. He helped boss in taking revenge on that bitch from different world"he said.

Mervin immediately pursed his lips after hearing this.

"Okay then. Go"Nester said, as he lowered his gun.

After passing by the two, Mervin went to Marcus's office. On his way, he passed by more hired criminals or gang members.

Once he reached the 'office', Marcus looked at him and gave smile. But it was his infamous smile of complete emotionless and coldness.

"Mervin, my boy! Good to see you!"he exclaimed.

"Marcus"Mervin simply replied.

"Please, sit down"Marcus said, pointing at chair.

However, Mervin just shook his head.

"No, thanks. I just came for little talk"he said.

"What talk do you mean?"Marcus asked.

"Talk about you going down".

Silence hung in the air like a bad omen. Both Mervin and Marcus watched each other, waiting for the latter move.

Soon, real anger appeared on Marcus's face. He stood up and came up to Mervin, leaning over him.

"Me going down? From what I think, you and your girlfriend will go own faster!"Marcus exclaimed.

But one-eyed boy's face still had it's neutral expression.

"I'm not scared anymore. And trust me. Sandra is not a kind of girl, who will be killed easily".

He then started to walk around Marcus.

"I know such type as you"he said"I knew it earlier, but I was too afraid to say it".

"What do you mean?"Marcus exclaimed.

"I read it in your behavior. And I can say it out loud"He stopped"The youngest of three children, with two older brothers, which always were making fun of you. Father was drunkard and used home abuse. That's why your mother left you. And you behave like that, only to show that you aren't a simple coward".

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Marcus quickly rushed towards Mervin, with fist pulled out. But before he could hit Mervin, he evaded his fist and grabbed his arm. Next thing Marcus remembered, was flying towards the ground.

He tried to get up, but Mervin stopped him.

"I would not try this"he said.

In addition to standing up, Marcus just rolled on his back, only to see six barrels of his XM214 aimed at him.

"It's good that I remembered where you keep your Microgun. Besides, these two plates of sheathing aren't a good place to hide your weapon"Mervin stated.

Right then, Storage Deck was filled with gun fire.

"What have you done?!"Marcus asked.

"I called few friends from school anti-terrorists squad"Mervin replied with victorious smile.

Few minutes earlier…

Nester and Delko were standing on watch, with their backs turned towards elevator. At now, they were taking care of talking.

"No joking, man"Delko said.

"No. I'm serious. When you crush them with boot, little seals's skulls make so cool noise"Nester replied"And what do you like?"

Delko though for a moment, before he said:

"You know. I like to push little children to well, write hater comments on people's posts and kill little animals like mouse or birds".

"Nice"Nester said.

Suddenly, they heard elevator's door opening. When they turned, they faced full squad of anti-terrorists aiming their guns at them, while one of them had shield in his hands.

"Motherfuckers!"Nester exclaimed.

They both tried to quickly aim their weapons, but anti-terrorists were faster and fired first.

Anti-terrorists came to two corpses.

"Nester. That was for Lynda and Deacon"Tiffany said.

Next, anti-terrorists moved to the Marcus's office.

Back at Marcus's office…

As sounds of shots were closer and closer, fear was more and more visible on Marcus's face.

"It's over, Marcus. You lost"Mervin said.

"I know, okay?!"Marcus exclaimed"I just wanted to show everyone, that I'm not another failure. I wanted everyone to hear about me".

Mervin shook his head and put Microgun down.

"Sorry, but it's too late"he said.

Right then, anti-terrorists entered the office and one of them came up to Marcus and started to handcuff him. Meanwhile, Tiffany approached Mervin.

"Hey. Thanks for helping us in finding hideout"she said.

"No problem. I just feel guilty, because I didn't said it earlier"Mervin replied"And the rest?"

"We already got Cindy, Jason and few others. Everyone who belonged to the gang will be probably thrown out of school".

Marcus laughed.

"Remember, who killed Sev"he pointed out.

And for this, he scored hit in the back of his head with riffle flask.

"Shut up, bastard"anti-terrorist said.

"That doesn't matter. We take him to cell"Tiffany ended.

She wanted to walk away, but Mervin stopped her"

"What about Shirley?"  
"She's gonna be okay. Fortunately, doctors didn't stated internal bleeding"Tiffany replied"And we called Yoshika, medic from 501st, to heal her".

"Good to hear that"Mervin admitted, sighing.

After that, anti-terrorists walked away with Marcus and Mervin following them.

July 23, 2022

13:34

School Hospital

Michael, Will and Tiffany were sitting around Shirley's bed. Thanks to Yoshika's help, Shirley was back in previous state, but doctors wanted her to stay here few more days, to see if everything is surely alright.

"I really have to stay here? I want to be back in room"Shirley whined.

"Trust me, it's needed. Only few more days"Tiffany said.

"Okay".

Then, she reminded:

"How Lucchini reacted, when she received news about it?"

"She was just furious. She said, that she'll just torn Marcus apart"Tiffany replied"But I told her, that she can be calm and I take care of this".

"Good. I don't know what Marcus could do to her and I don't want to know".

Meanwhile, Michael started talking:

"You heard that Marcus's Gang stopped to exist?"

Shirley looked at him with surprise.

"No way. Really?"she asked.

"Yes. Tiffany was commanding the team, which captured Marcus himself"Will added.

Witch looked at Tiffany with respect.

"Cool".

"Nah, it's nothing. Besides, I had informant, which told me where Marcus's hideout is"Tiffany replied.

"Really? Who?"

Tiffany stood up and came up to the door.

"You can enter"she said to person behind them.

Next, she returned to her seat and Mervin entered with Sandra.

When Shirley saw him, she immediately shouted:

"What this bastard is doing here?!"

"He's the one who told me about hideout"Tiffany said"Trust me, when I saw him entering our room, I just wanted to pull his throat out. But then, he told me, that he lead you into the trap, because he had no other choice".

Shirley only scoffed and looked at Mervin.

"No other choice, huh? And what do she means by this?"

"You see. Marcus said, that if Merv don't help him, he'll kill me"Sandra explained.

Witch and others just then turned their attention at her.

"Who are you by the way?"Will asked.

"Oh, sorry. Sandra Wolfe, Mervin's girlfriend"Sandra introduced herself"It's nice to finally meet you personally".

All eyes turned on Mervin again.

"So…you just wanted to protect her?"Shirley asked.

Mervin nodded.

"Of course. I would do everything to not let anyone hurt Sandra"Mervin provided. Then he quickly added"I mean, almost everything".

Shirley looked at him one more time, from down to up. Next, she smiled.

"You know what? I actually can forgive you".

Mervin then looked at her with surprise.

"Really?"he asked.

"Yeah. I understand that you did it, only to protect someone you love"she replied.

The boy sighed.

"Thanks. And I promise, one day, you'll be having a chance to take revenge on me"he promised.

Shirley smiled again.

"I look really forward to that".

After she said that, Mervin and Sandra exited the hospital, leaving the group.

XXX

 **And second School Chapter is ready. Longer than first, but as I said then. School Chapters won't be all the same length and can be shorter or longer.**

 **See ya in another one!**


	14. Chapter 12

**Fortress LA is lost. Unfortunately. But now, the liberation of Paris awaits. And it's even more important, because, as you probably know, this'll force FSCR to surrender. One problem less, If I can say so.**

Perrine: But still, two continents are conquered.

 **True. But I said ONE problem less. Not only that, but new Witches will come to the play.**

Sadako: Really? Who?

 **Secret. Now, let's get it started.**

Chapter 12

,,Burning the Red Star"

August 26, 2022

07:03

Coalition Base, Paris outskirts

"Try to move it a little"the technician said.

Shirley moved her prosthesis hand. But fingers just bent in too mechanic way.

"Hm. Let me change some things"technician asked.

He looked at his laptop and written something in it. Next, he looked at Shirley again.

"Now".

This time, moves of hand looked more naturally. Technician ordered her to grab a cup laying on his table. She did it with ease.

"You just need some time to get used to it"he stated.

"I think I can do it"Shirley replied.

The boy took his equipment and left the Hospital tent. Meanwhile, Shirley looked at Lucchini, which was sitting on a chair next to her, with pouting face.

"What?"Shirley questioned.

"You said you won't get hurt. I never liked liars"Lucchini replied.

"Can you stop already? I didn't expected this to happen myself".

Idea appeared in Shirley's head.

"I know what will make you happy"she said.

Immediately, Lucchini jumped on her and cuddled into her bosom.

"I waited till you say that. Everything: forgiven!"she exclaimed.

"Okay, let's go now".

Two Witches exited the tent, right when artillery fired another shells at Paris. They looked at the panorama of the city and saw smokes, flames and Eiffla Tower looking at all of this from up. Sounds of gunfire were heard from everywhere and soldiers were moving out to the battle.

Rest of Witches and 4th School Fleet adjutants were waiting in front of Canteen tent.

"And how it was?"Georgette asked.

Shirley showed everyone her new hand.

"(whistle) Nice"Janos said.

"I just need to get used to this"She then turned to Natalia"Oh, Natalia. Thank your sister for this hand from me. She really is talented in robotics".

"Got it"Slovakian girl replied.

"Remember, that she's Ursula's double, though"Erica pointed out.

Meanwhile, Saltarski was standing in different tent, with generals Sobczak and Tocchelli. They discussed about something else than Paris.

"You really still didn't found him?"Saltarski asked.

"We try our best. Nobody reported him since Warsaw. It's been two years, captain"Tocchelli said.

"But I know he's somewhere there. And I'm going to find him"Saltarski stated.

He looked at Paris. Sobczak sighed.

"Listen, captain. There's a big chance, that Lizing was killed after Battle of Warsaw. Possibility that…"But Saltarski cut him off:

"Bullshit! I swore, that I find him! No matter if I only find his corpse or him alive. I'm gonna do it!"he exclaimed.

"Revenge is never an option, captain"Tocchelli said, leaving the tent.

But when she was leaving, a Polish soldier in scout uniform almost crashed into her. He quickly apologized and came up to Sobczak and Saltarski.

"Generale Sobczak, kapitanie Saltarski (General Sobczak, captain Saltarski)"he said in Polish.

"English"Sobczak said to him.

Scout only threw up his arms.

"Nie znam angielskiego (I don't speak English)".

Saltarski sighed.

"No dobra. O co chodzi? (Okay. What is it?)"Saltarski asked.

"Byliśmy na ptarolu z chłopakami. Nagle, między drzewami, dostrzegliśmy niebieskie światło. To pomyślałem, że zaraportuję (We were at patrol with boys. Suddenly, between the trees, we noticed a blue light. So I thought, I'll report this)"scout explained.

General and his adjutant looked at each other.

"Niebieskie światło mówisz? (Blue light, you say?)"Sobczak was making sure.

"Tak. Jak myślicie, co to takiego? (Yes. What do you think it is?)"

"Captain, take team and investigate it"Sobczak ordered to Saltarski. Next, he turned to scout"A ty, możesz odejść (And you, can go)".

Scout saluted and left the tent.

"You think the same as me?"Saltarski asked his commander.

"Ano (Well). I think we're getting another guests from another world"Sobczak replied.

Young captain saluted and exited the tent, to find a team.

Few minutes later…

Saltarski talked a little with Janos, found the scout, which told him where he saw the light, and four Humvees, two Polish and two Hungarian, were already en route to that location. Soldiers were preparing weapons, but they didn't wanted to use it. It was more from wont.

"So. You say, that we probably we have new Witches here?"Janos asked in radio.

Saltarski took the CB radio and replied:

"Da, comrade"he said with joke in voice"Strike Witches said, that they were transported here by blue light. The same was said by Brave Witches".

"What if this is one of those Neuroi this time?"Saltarski's Humvee driver asked.

Saltarski looked at him. He didn't thought about it. But only shook his head.

"Pray to God for 'no'. Let's just take care of this quickly"captain ended.

"We're right next to this position"driver reported.

Saltarski looked at the GPS screen and noticed that driver's right.

"Okay. Ladies and gentlemen! We're approaching the location!"Saltarski said through radio.

Four Hummers then entered on a little glade between the trees. Soldiers immediately started to leave vehicles and MGs operators turned their weapons at the middle of the glade, where six figures were.

As Saltarski and Sobczak predicted, they were Witches. Three of them appeared to be Japanese, or Fusoan, to be more exact, origin. Two others were wearing uniforms, resembling the ones used by Afrikakorps. Last of them, was a black skinned girl.

Saltarski and Janos, with surprise noticed, that two of Witches are doubles of Moreno and Tess. While other two, were equipped with not flying Striker Units.

"Hold your fire!"Janos ordered"It was mainly to you!"

One of soldiers on turrets, which was about to pull the trigger, pointed his MG in the sky.

"So, yeah. Newcomers"Janos said, standing next to Saltarski.

"Told ya"Saltarski replied.

Then, one of the Witches stepped forward and approached two boys.

"Can I ask, who's in command here?"she asked.

Janos and Saltarski looked at each other.  
"Actually, we both are. Captain Krystian Saltarski and Janos Kiss"Saltarski introduced them"Can now we know, who are you?"

Witch looked at the rest of her team and sighed.

"I'm Squadron Leader Katou Keiko"she introduced herself"This is flight lieutenant Hanna-Justina Marseille, pilot officer Raisa Pottgen, sergeant Inagaki Mami, sergeant Kitano Furuko and corporal Matilda Wendell".

"Okay. Now, when we know each other, you can go with us"Saltarski stated.

But Marseille rushed forward and landed in front of Saltarski.

"Listen. W don't know, who the hell are you. Why do you think, that we'll come with you two?"she asked.

Saltarski was about to answer. However, one of his soldiers approached him.

"What do you need, Wojtek?"the captain asked.

"Sir, I found this strange cone. What do you think it is?"Wojtek replied.

Next, he showed to Saltarski…an old German pomegranate. Saltarski noticed lack of overlay at the bottom of shank.

"Hey. Listen. Where did you found it?"Saltarski asked with worry.

"Behind these rocks"Wojtek pointed at some rocks at the end of glade.

"Did something fall off of it when you took it?"

"Yeah. Something black from the end of handle".

In blink of an eye, Saltarski took the pomegranate from Wojtek and ordered:

"Everybody on the ground! You"he turned to Witches"use your shields!"

With this order, Saltarski threw the grenade, while other laid on the ground and Witches activated their shields.

Grenade, unfortunately, landed under one of Hungarian Humvees. It exploded, forcing the car to explode too. Wreck flew up, then fall, literally, just in front of Janos. Hungarian boy just shouted in fear.

When it was over, everyone stood up again.

"Shit. Sorry for that Hummer"Saltarski said to Janos"Relics of WW2. Still deadly".

"Nah. It was only a car. We can replace it"Janos replied, heavily breathing.

"So, can we go?"Keiko asked.

Two boys turned to her.

"So you want to go with us?"Janos asked.

"You know. Maybe it actually be better. We don't know where are we, so why not go with you"she explained.

"Okay. Load up!"Saltarski ordered.

Then, he reminded himself about destroyed Humvee. But Janos solved the problem.

"Easy. When you reach the base, just send someone for us"he said.

"Sure thing"Saltarski promised"Witches, just follow us from the air".

"But what about Matilda and Kitano? They are Mechanized Armored Infantry. So, as Tank Witches, they can't fly. Besides, you should know that"Raisa explained.

And another problem appeared.

"Easy. We can also stay and wait for another transport"four Polish soldiers explained.

"Okay. So we do it in that way"Saltarski stated"Matilda and Kitano will go with us, while their Strikers will land in second Humvee. We'll meet at base".

"Sounds good to us"Kitano said.

After the preparations, three Humvees moved back to base, with Witches following them in the air.

"How is it back there?"driver asked Matilda and Kitano.

"It's not so bad, though I expected worse"Matilda replied.

"This is captain Saltarski"Saltarski said to radio"General Sobczak, the scouts were right. We got newcomers, over".

"Copy that, captain. We meet at base"Sobczak replied.

They then continued to drive down the road.

Back at the base…

When Witches landed in the base, they were greeted by soldiers in strange uniforms and other vehicles. With awe, they watched aircraft taking off vertically.

"Okay, what the hell, is really happening here?"Marseille asked"It had to be normal patrol over Sahara. Then, a blue light and we land here in…"She looked at the nearby city and with surprise stated, where they are"…Paris".

"You think we get some answers here?"Raisa asked.

As per her request, Saltarski approached them.

"From what I think, you want to get some answers"he said.

"Yes"Keiko replied.

"Sure. You're in different world"Saltarski explained, getting straight to the bottom.

Silence appeared in the air. It was only intermittent by artillery and gunfire.

"How is it: alternate world?!"Marseille exclaimed.

"Let us explain"familiar voice said from behind.

Storm Witches turned around and became speechless. Here, in front of them, were standing two missing Witches squadrons: Strike Witches and Brave Witches. Both teams were wearing different uniforms.

"What's up?"Erica asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! The heck is TRULY happening here?!"Marseille again exclaimed.

"Let's just say, that after we vanished, we were transported to alternate version of our world. But we explain to you everything, once we take back Paris"Rall said.

"Wait. But Paris isn't under Neuroi control anymore"Keiko pointed out.

Strike Witches and Brave Witches looked at each other.

"Yeah…This is one of harder parts"Rosman said.

"But now, we really have to go. We meet after the battle"Shirley said.

With these words, everyone just left Storm Witches, making their way to their units. But soon, one of French soldiers took them to one of barracks.

08:54

Avenue Foch

"Who would expect, that they also get there"Lucchini said, jumping off of the B1 Centauro armor.

She landed on the street with Mario and Lina, while US soldiers exited the M2 Bradley. Two teams came up to each other.

"Okay. Our task is to eliminate enemy resistance point at the Triumphal Arch. Maybe we took city hall, but we still need to eliminate enemy remnants"Michael explained.

After Michael, Tiffany, Will and Shirley returned from Los Angeles, they reported everything to general Davis. In that way, Davis assigned them to new unit, which was based on 66th–1st Mechanized Marines Battalion.

And because Shirley left her M4 in LA, she returned to her Browning M1918 riffle. Especially for her, supply companies were delivering ammo to that riffle.

"Easy peasy"Lina stated.

"Not so fast, girl"Will said to her"They have tanks, TOWs and hell of a lot of infantry. They really want to break out of encirclement, so they gonna fight hard".

As per Will's words, French Commune Dardo APC drove from the nearby alley behind them. It's Oerlikon KBA gun at them, forcing them to quickly hide behind Centauro and M2. Both vehicles turned their towers.

Bradley fired it's M242 Bushmaster. Bullets ricocheted from Dardo's frontal armor, when vehicle turned with front towards them. But B1's 105mm gun easily pierced it and soon, Italian Marines and Americans saw Dardo's armor being pouted by internal explosion.

"Poor Dardo"Mario said.

"Yeah. It's really hurts that we have to fight something made by us"Lina added.

"Put aside your feeling sorry for vehicles. Let's just clear this Triumphal Arch"Shirley said.

Group, supported by M2 and Centauro then moved forward, to encounter PLA and French Commune soldiers at the Triumphal Arch.

09:02

Quai de la Megisserie street

Finnish troops were making their way towards the Louvre, where Chinese artillery batteries were set up, according to scouts. They were supported by Swiss and Japanese troops.

"Fire!"Nikka ordered to her gunner.

Leopard 2A4 gun fired. Shell fell off of the gun and loader immediately loaded another. Nikka watched as shot ricocheted from ZTZ-96's armor. Enemy tank then turned it's tower towards Leopard.

"Back, back, back!"she ordered.

Driver again quickly hid behind the bend, right before Chinese shell flew just by inches from it's gun.

"Badger 3, everything's okay?"platoon commander asked.

"Affirmative, Badger 1"Nikka replied"How long do we have to hold 'em?"

"Until we get reinforcements"Pierre joined in"or get shredded".

"I, personally, prefer the reinforcements"Yoshika said in coms.

Badger 2 fired it's gun at French Commune soldiers that just passed the bend. Their body parts and blood landed everywhere.

"Oh, crap. We need to do something"Shin stated.

"Just let the tanks do their job. We must focus on dealing with infantry"major Yakasuke, their squad leader, said to Shin.

Nikka's platoon tanks set up in four different alleys, creating the shape of cross. Meanwhile, troops entered nearby buildings and started to fire at enemies from higher position.

"Badger 3, check if this Longshot 1 is still there"Badger 1 ordered.

Longshot was Coalition designation for ZTZ-96 and 99 tanks. This nickname was given to them because of their ability to fire at long distances.

Leopard moved from behind the bend, only to immediately hid again, because of another shell fired by tank.

"Yes, he is. Only waiting for us to come there"Nikka reported back.

"Alrighty then. Listen lads! If our reinforcements will not come…"He didn't ended.

Everybody heard a characteristic sound coming from afar. Immediately, they've been filled with fear.

"ARTILLERY!"Badger 1 shouted.

Just after his words, artillery started shelling the ground around the defensive perimeter. Nikka covered her ears, when shells started to hit right next to her tank and almost hitting it. She was worried about soldiers outside, but it was obvious, that if she try to open the hatch and look around, she'll die immediately.

After next few seconds, everything stopped. Nikka turned her communicator on, to check if other survived.

"Hello? Anyone on the second side?"she asked.

Series of cracks could be heard, but finally, she received an answer:

"This is captain Drichburg. Me and my guys are OK".

"Yakasuke here. We've lost seven men. Besides, we've got some scars here. Nothing to worry about"Yakasuke reported.

"Phew! Worse thing is only reindeer shit"Finnish commander joked.

"Badger 2 reporting! Badger 1 have been destroyed!"Badger 2 reported.

"Damn it!"Pierre cursed"Somebody secure that alley!".

Some soldiers moved to replace destroyed tank. In the meantime, Nikka opened the hatch and looked around.

Nearby building, in which shells hit, were completely devastated. Maybe they were still standing, but much of their construction was just laying on the street in rubble.

And soldiers's bodies among them.

To make everything worse, the ZTZ-96 just appeared in front of Nikka's tank, aiming it's gun at them.

"Oh, fuck!"gunner exclaimed.

Then, four shells hit ZTZ-96 I it's gap between tower and hull, making tower fly in the Seine river.

"Suck, Chinese!"Conny exclaimed.

"Feel the power of uranium shells!"Ursula added.

"Are we late?"Barkhorn asked in coms.

"Maybe a little, Barkhorn-san"Yoshika said.

"Sorry. But we had some engine problems. We couldn't get here faster"Barkhorn explained their reason of being late.

"Just finish the remains and take out that artillery"Yakasuke said.

Finnish, Swiss and Japanese finally left their perimeter and could now move to their objective.

Next point of resistance, was a semicircular sandbag protected perimeter next to the entrance of Collonade de Perrault, with infantry and APCs. Tanks quickly crossed the bend and opened fire, taking out all APCs with one salvo. Coalition infantry just took care of the remains.

"Okay. Artillery is hidden next to the Louvre Pyramid. We attack from two directions"Pierre introduced the plan.

"From two? How?"Nikka asked, exiting the tank.

Pierre looked at the palace entrance. Soldiers and Witches followed his sight.

"Wait…You want to break through the palace?!"Barkhorn exclaimed.

"That's devastation of monuments!"Yoshika added.

"Do we have other choice? Besides, we already devastated many monuments since Argentina"he replied.

Actually, he was right.

"Okay then. What's the plan exactly?"Barkhorn asked.

"Easy. We divide in half. Me and Yakasuke will lead the frontal attack through Place du Carrousel. When they will be focused on us, you break through the palace and attack them from behind. Easy, right?"

Pierre looked at faces around him.

"Let it be. But I'm not paying for reconstruction, if they find out who took part in it"Yakasuke pointed.

"Easy. All responsibility will fall on me"Pierre replied with smile.

"You know you'll never pay for this?"Shin pointed out.

"Again, easy. My uncle is in charge of Swiss National Bank since 2020. I just call him for some financial support"he again said with smile.

Commanders looked at each other.

"Let's do it then"Nikka ended the conversation.

She once again climbed up the armor and entered the turret. Badger 2 ordered to Badger 4, that he'll support frontal attack with Pierre and Yakasuke. Nikka, together with Barkhorn and Cheetah 3, with company of soldiers, will do the surprise part of plan.

Infantry, with other tanks moved in the direction of Louvre Pyramid. Pierre ordered to Cheetah 4 to see what's behind the turn. Tank moved from behind the cover.

And immediately was hit by artillery shell in it's side.

Fortunately, armor wasn't been penetrated, so crew quickly left the tank.

"Mein Gott, bitch, Jesus!"Cheetah 4 commander exclaimed.

"What happened?"Yakasuke asked.

"It was a fucking PLZ-07. They used SPG as tank destroyer. We're lucky that we're still alive"gunner replied.

Yakasuke and Pierre looked at each other. If the self-proppeled guns were turned in their direction, then towed ones will be surprised by second group.

"Okay, people!"Pierre turned to soldiers"This is where hard part begins! We're gonna run straight through their fire, so do your best to don't get killed!"

Some soldiers nodded their heads, while other just started to shake.

"On my mark"Yakasuke said"go!"

Once they put their feet on the are surrounding Louvre Pyramid, they met fire from Chinese riffles and SPGs.

Pierre turned his communicator on and said:

"Barkhorn! It's your time! Smash them!"

"Copy that!"Barkhorn replied.

The Swiss saw as the wall of palace behind the artillery starts to shake, when four tanks broke through it, with soldiers following them.

Nikka's tank turned it's tower on one of towed guns and fired it's MG at the crew. Barkhorn fired at back of one of PLZ-07. When shell hit the back of SPG, whole thing exploded, killing soldiers surrounding it. The same fate met second SPG, which was taken care of by Badger 2. Infantry fired their riffles at artillery crew and rocket launchers at SPGs, destroying remaining ones.

After everything was over, squads met under the Louvre Pyramid. Or more precisely, the giant pit, that left after the destroyed pyramid.

"You're okay?"Barkhorn asked Pierre.

"Could be worse. One bullet hit me in leg, but I ask some medic to take it out"He then stopped for a second"Yakasuke's dead".

"Then who's in command of Japanese now?"Nikka questioned.

Pierre turned his head. His eyes landed on Yoshika, which was now healing wounds of one Finnish soldier.

"Well…Sergeant Miyafuji is now highest in their squad's ranks"he replied.

Hearing this, Barkhorn looked in the same direction. She then walked up to Yoshika.

"Barkhorn-san"Yoshika said, ending the healing.

"I heard about Yakasuke's death"Barkhorn said.

Yoshika then looked in opposite direction. Barkhorn followed her sight, to see other medic taking care of Yakasuke's body.

"Y-Yeah"Yoshika replied, unsteadily"Shin told me, that now, I'm in command".

"I know. You're sure you can do it?"Barkhorn asked.

Fusoan Witch only nodded her head with determination.

"I'll do my best"she provided.

"Just don't get hurt"Karlslander asked.

Then, she turned back and returned to the rest of her platoon.

"Cap, Cheetah 4 is out"Ursula informed.

"Damn. What about 2 and 3?"Barkhorn asked, entering the tank.

"2 has some scratches, not big deal. 3's track fell off of wheels, but their already repairing it"Michael replied.

Barkhorn nodded. Next, she gave order to move forward.

09:35

Paris airspace

"Get rekt"Markus said, shredding Mirage 2000 into little pieces.

Jäger Squadron was now engaging another French Commune squadron, easily bringing them down. Florian fired his gun at Panavia Tornado, which tried to make a Loop, but was unfortunate to land under Erica's strike from up. She used her Sturm to force enemy pilot to spin around, what she used and fired her gun into his belly, with bullets easily piercing through it, hitting the fuel tank. Plane changed into one big fireball.

Florian paired with her.

"(whistle) That was move"he admitted.

"Since Perrine discovered that she can use her Tonnerre from plane, I wanted to try myself. As you saw, it worked"Erica explained.

"Good. Let's now…"Florian didn't ended his words.

Sky Keeper entered the communicator and said:

"All aircraft, confirmed container launched UAVs in the area. They're coming towards you, Jäger".

"Copy that, Keep. We take 'em down"Florian provided.

When he said that, formation of ten MQ-99s appeared on his radar. He looked in their direction and saw the machines itself.

"Okay then. Jäger Squadron! Tear them apart!"he ordered.

Markus and Luca joined Florian and Erica. All four planes fired their missiles, scoring first four kills.

"If Chinese wanted these things to help them gain victory, then they should call for return of money"Luca joked.

He landed behind drone and fired his gun, shredding it into pieces.

"Yeah. They're easy"Markus admitted to his buddy.

Markus fired missile at UAV on his right. Thanks to Typhoon's helmet integrated targeting system, Markus could just lead the missiles to target with moving his head and looking at UAV. Next thing he saw, was a ball of fire in the place where UAV was before.

Erica again used her Sturn and, doing Barrel Roll, pierced through another UAV.

"Whooohooo! Another one!"she exclaimed.

"And with effectiveness!"Luca added.

Remaining UAVs tried to run away, but squadron quickly fired their missiles and took them down.

"Sky Keeper. UAVs destroyed"Erica reported.

"Good. I'm detecting squadron of J-10s approaching you. Take care of them now"Sky Keeper replied.

"Of course we do"Florian provided.

Then, he got visual on J-10s.

09:42

Triumphal Arch area

After they met with another Finnish, Hungarian, Polish and Czech squads, Italian and American troops moved to their destination, where they now engaged Chinese troops. Triumphal Arch found itself under siege, as Coalition forces surrounded it.

Shirley just grabbed Chinese officer by his hand, with usage of her new hand. She squeezed his wrist, making him let his gun go. Next, Colt M1911 landed between officer's eyes and wall behind him was painted in red.

"This new hand is awesome!"Shirley exclaimed.

"But don't loose more limbs!"Saltarski said to her.

He leaned from behind the bend and fired his riffle at Chinese, which looked over the sandbags. Bullets pierced through his goggles and soldier fell on the ground.

"Good shot, kid!"Polish Regular Army soldier said.

B1 Centauro fired it's gun on BMP-3 standing next to Triumphal Arch. Infantry fighting vehicle was hit straight in the tower, which was blown off of top of it. Michael and Eevi used their grenade launchers to deal with another group of enemies hiding behind sandbags. Another six dots disappeared from their HUDs. Helena changed her goggles into thermography view and fired her BREN at French Commune troops. She saw their signatures disappear from her view.

"Alright, let's finish them!"Ellen ordered.

Coalition soldiers left their cover and started to walk up to enemy position. Centauro and Bradley moved behind them, firing their MGs. Sandbags couldn't stop bullets and all were falling dead. Even remaining vehicles quickly were destroyed or abandoned by their crews, witch were trying to escape, but bullets also reached them.

When everything was over, soldiers started to check if anyone survived. If they did, enemies were shoot.

Lina noticed one of Chinese, without leg, crawling to the riffle laying few meters away.

"Hey, don't even try!"Lucchini said, looking in the same direction.

Both Witch and her double turned to shot the moribund Chinese, but Saltarski stopped them:

"Wait. Let our little lady take care of him. Riley!"

Riley, after hearing her name, ran from behind the bend and approached Krystian. He stroked her head.

"Take him"sounded the short order from Krystian's mouth.

Dog looked at Chinese and started to growl. She slowly approached him and, right when he was about to take the riffle, bit him in wrist. Soldier screamed, when he felt dog's teeth piercing his uniform and skin. With every second, her embrace was stronger and stronger, until it finally pushed bone to it's limits, and Chinese's hand flew away, when Riley threw it.

Shirley waved her right hand, knowing the pain Chinese had to feel right now.

He quickly turned on his back and grabbed the place, where hand was just a few seconds ago. Riley, however, didn't ended. She stood over Chinese, exposing teeth. Before dying soldier could orientate, teeth were drowned in his neck. He started to scream, as Riley started to furiously jerk his throat. Screaming stopped at the same time, as Riley wrenched big part of meat from his throat.

Ellen and Janos uncovered Lina's and Lucchini's eyes. Two girl turned to them.

"We wanted to see"Lina said.

"You're too young to see something like that"Ellen replied with peaceful voice.

"Unfair"Lucchini added.

"We set the rules here"Janos ended.

Meanwhile, Riley returned to Saltarski. He knelt and stroke dog's head again.

"Good girl. Your seventeenth kill"he said.

"Never expected to see something like this"the same Regular as earlier said.

"Riley is a dog raised for military. Remember this"Saltarski replied"And as a mascot of 2nd Infantry battalion, but it's other story."

"Other way, she can kill you in just a seconds"Helena ended.

Then a cannonade of artillery could be heard and flash of their hits covered the foreground of Eiffla Tower.

"We're almost done here. Let's take Paris back and end the FSCR"Helena said.

Others agreed and quickly moved forward.

Inside National Marine Museum

Natalia hid behind cabinet with model of old frigate inside. Bullets flew through the glass, damaging the model and breaking the glass, which fell on Slovak girl. She quickly returned fire and saw blood covering cabinet behind him.

"Lukáš, have more ammo?"she asked soldier sitting next to her.

"Catch"Lukáš, giving her magazine.

"Thanks."

She loaded magazine to her riffle. Right before another Chinese ran into the room. Two Slovaks quickly left their cover and fired at them. Soon, they were laying on the ground.

"Hela, how are you doing?"Natalia asked, turning her radio on.

After short static, she received the answer:

"We're doing good and making our way to Eiffle Tower, Natalia. What about you?"

"In charge of clearing the Marine Museum. We're almost over with it and we can go to Tower"Natalia replied.

"Okay. See you there"Helena ended.

Natalia ended the call and turned to Lukáš.

"Move. We have building to secure"she said.

"Let's get going"boy replied.

They then moved to another room.

10:10

Eiffle Tower foreground

Panzerbrigade 4 and their support already engaged Chinese and French Commune soldiers on the Eiffle Tower foregrounds. Tank fire exchange and MG wall of bullets already managed to stop some assaults, but they continued to try.

Trenches were completely covering the foreground, with Chinese soldiers moving through them. Once they left trenches, Colaition troops immediately killed them.

"God damn it, how much do we have to hold?!"Linchov asked.

On their way here, Russian troops and some Regular Army soldiers joined assault group and tried to take care of this too.

"Artillery fire didn't even softened them!"Pierre noticed.

Barkhorn's Leopard 3A2 just fired another shell, but it hit the ground. Enemy tanks were still far behind their range.

"What do you propose?"Nikka asked through radio.

"We have one last chance. I think we need to charge"Pierre said.

"But you saw what happened earlier? We lost too many men"Linchov said to him.

"Pierre's right"Barkhorn joined"If troops move behind the tanks, we can make it."

Everyone looked at her, when she opened turret hatch and said it.

"Actually, we also can move through the trenches. But only dangerous moments can be when we need to exit and enter next one"Yoshika said"I don't want anyone more to die."

She then felt someone pulling her sleeve. She looked behind and saw Shin's green eyes.

"Easy. We can do it. Really"he provided.

"But Shin…"Yoshika tried to oppose, but was cut off by him:

"We didn't came all this way to be repealed again, right? Let's do it."

Right then, a squad of German soldiers joined them.

"Whatever you planning, we're with you"their commander said.

"Okay then. Prepare, everyone!"Linchov said.

With his words, soldiers started to set up behind the tanks and to run from trench to trench on their way to Eiffla Tower.

As Barkhorn watched troops preparing, her eyes stopped on one of Germans. He had navy blue eyes and she could notice few wisps of hair protruding out of his helmet, also in navy blue color. He was armed with MG36 and also had some Nitrosium armor plated on his uniform. She didn't knew why, but she just couldn't took her eyes off him.

"Captain, are you ready?"Ursula asked from her seat.

Witch turned to her, finally plucked out of her trance.

"Yes, I'm ready"she replied, closing the hatch.

Meanwhile, Linchov reached his pocket and took his whistle.

"On my mark, go!"he ordered.

Sound of whistle was heard all over the place. With this, soldiers started to leave their cover behind the tanks and ran through foreground, towards first trench, with tanks moving behind.

"Too close!"Pierre exclaimed, when bullets literally flew over his head.

But soldier behind him didn't had so much luck.

Nikka ordered her gunner to fire and through her visor, she saw shell colliding with T-80 armor and bouncing from it.

She was about to order to load another shell, when she felt the tank lifting up. Next, another hit. Some shells fell out of the storage, but fortunately didn't exploded.

"What just happened?"she asked her driver.

"We just scored hit in the wheels. All of left track is destroyed"driver reported.

"The same with gun. They hit it and broke it in half"gunner added.

These weren't been good news at all. With track down and broken gun, they were just sitting ducks out there.

Right then, gunner noticed one of enemy tanks turning it's tower towards them.

"O, shit!"she exclaimed.

Tank fired and whole crew was prepared for final shot, to end their lives. But much to their surprise, it didn't happened.

In addition to this, they saw blue hue inside the tanks. They turned around and saw Nikka deactivating her familiar.

"What did you done?"loader questioned.

"I used my shield. I didn't knew if it'll work"Nikka replied.

"From what I see, it worked"driver said.

"Badger 3, are you alright?"Badger 2 asked.

"We're okay, Badger 2. But I don't think we can help anymore, Toni"Nikka replied.

"Copy that. Just don't leave the tank, maybe they then think you're dead"Badger 2 advised.

A the same time, soldiers moved to another trench, again suffering losses. Yoshika used her shield to deflect another wave of bullets, but few of them sneaked in and Shin felt pain in his leg.

"Shin, are you okay?"she asked.

"Yeah. It's nothing. Let's move forward"he replied.

"Linchov, Drichburg, how are you?"German leader asked.

"Just few scratches. But otherwise, we're okay"Pierre replied.

Just three more trenches were in their way to the feet of Eiffla Tower. They were more low and low on soldiers, but still enough to take out the command post. They'll surely do it with tank support.

"Okay. Just three more. Let's go!"Linchov ordered.

Soldiers left the trench one more time and started to run through foreground. This time, they were almost hit by tank shells, but fortunately, this time, no one died, before they reached trench and sit down inside.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, this is too hard! We won't last these last trenches, now fucking way!"one of German troops exclaimed.

"Don't wine, Orbert. Just do what we have to do"his commander said.

Leopard 3A2 passed by the trench under the wave of bullets, deflecting from it's armor. Tank shells also were deflecting from it's frontal armor.

"Okay, ready?"Barkhorn asked.

"For all!"Ursula replied.

"Let's do it!"Michael added.

Witch nodded her head, ordering Ursula to speed the tank up to it's maximal speed. Under the fire, tank was driving straight into enemy barricades, until it crashed into one of it, completely breaking it down. Next, tower turned towards group of Chinese, standing next to the place where tank broke through, and fired. Only thing that left, were their body parts and blood.

"Not going to join us?"Barkhorn asked Linchov, Pierre and Yoshika through via radio.

"Yes, we do"Linchov replied.

Soldiers again left the trench, running to the command post. There, they jumped over the barricades or entered through breach made by tank and started to fire at remaining enemies. Leopard 3, as well as Badger Leopards took care of tanks.

Barkhorn's Leopard 3A2 aimed gun at back of T-80 and after firing, was awarded by it's explosion.

"ZTZ 99 on the right!"Badger 4 announced.

Enemy tank was about to fire at Badger 2, before several mini-shells hit it's engine part and shells magazine, after which tank exploded, leaving only burning wreck. Thanks to this, Badger 2 had chance to aim at enemy command vehicle and destroyed it.

After that, squad of Polish Nitrosium Heavy Troopers and Slovak troops joined them.

"I see that we're little late for the party"Natalia stated.

"Sorry. But you could be faster"Pierre said to her.

Meanwhile, everyone recognized the Nitrosium heavy Troopers commander.

"One tank more on Quadruple D account"Diana said, taking her goggles off.

"More precisely, it was 24th"one of her squadmates pointed out.

Diana only nodded to her.

"Chestnyy, good job with that tank"Linchov said.

The girl only sent asking look to him.

"I totally don't care about Russian lessons in school, so how did you called me?"Diana asked suspiciously.

"It means 'honest' in Russian. And from what I know, your surname is Honest"Pierre explained.

When he said that, Hungarian, American, Italian, Czech, Finnish and more Polish troops joined them.

"Any news?"Natalia asked.

"Yes. We managed to capture FSCR 1st Secretary. He ordered all remains of enemy forces to surrender"Helena replied."In other words, we took back Paris".

"Good. Can we now just get back to base?"Lucchini asked.

"We do. Let's call transport for us"Saltarski said.

Next, he turned his radio on.

10:56

Coalition base, city outskirts

Storm Witches were watching all soldiers packing their gear and enjoying the victory over the Chinese and FSCR forces.

"Okay. So I think that you won?"Marseille asked Rall, which was just taking her Nitrosium Heavy Trooper armor plates off.

"Yes, we did. Now, we have to do something different. Sorry, but I now need to dress my gala uniform"Rall replied.

Marseille only gave puzzled gaze to Rall, but left the tent.

"You know anything?"Keiko asked, once Marseille sat with the rest.

"At least I know they just won the battle"she replied.

"So what we have to do now?"Raisa asked.

"Let's wait for the development of situation"Matilda said.

Others simply nodded their heads.

12:00

Parc des Princes Stadium

After Coalition liberated Normandy, president Emmanuel Macron with his wife Brigitte, traveled to Calais, where they waited until the liberation of Paris. Now, when city was free again, president was quickly transported from Calais, to accept the act of FSCR capitulation.

Both Coalition, Chinese and FSCR troopers were sitting on the stands, while the signing of act of capitulation was taking place down there, on the grass.

"So now, we have one problem less"Linchov stated.

"I don't know, if this will be so helpful. We still have two continents to liberate"Kozue replied.

"Just don't break the moment"Rin said to her.

Adjutants were sitting in the first row, while Witches were sitting in second.

"What do we gonna do next?"Hikari asked.

"Now, we're going to move East, towards Germany"Pokryshkin replied.

"Okay, whatever"Kanno said.

Meanwhile, Georgette, which was sitting behind Anton, noticed that except of Crystal, his brother was sitting next to him.

"Where's Crystal?"she asked.

Anton turned to her and simply replied:

"There".

Georgette looked in direction he pointed and saw Crystal, standing right next to president Macron and his wife.

"Wait. Why is she there?"asked Sakamoto, which was listening to conversation.

"She's French national hero. It's her duty, to also accept the capitulation"Karl replied this time.

After hearing this, Witches looked at Crystal with surprise.

"You said she's national hero? How?"Barkhorn asked.

"Simple. It happened back in 2020, during the Defense War. Sedan was under siege and there was actually no hope for victory. Commander was killed during artillery bombardment and Crystal was second in command. When she took command, she gathered remaining Russian, French and German forces and executed a plan that helped in maintaining the city"Anton explained.

"What kind of plan?"Georgette asked.

"They let Chinese enter Sedan, but when it happened, her forces started to use guerilla warfare and harassed them all day and night. This gave enough time for reinforcements to reach city and open escape route for them. After that, she received National Order of Legion of Honor".

Witches nodded, after hearing how Crystal managed to maintain Sedan.

Back on the grass, president Macron and French Commune 1st Secretary were signing the act of capitulation. Next, president turned to Crystal.

"Lieutenant Le Fem"he said.

"Mr. President"Crystal replied.

She took the pen from him and approached the table. She then signed herself on the act. 1st Secretary looked at them and smiled.

"Honestly, I'm happy because of this capitulation"he said.

"Why?"a bit surprised Macron asked.

"Simply. I wanted new France, free from any influence. But Nian didn't wanted to change us into sovereign country. Many of us had enough of being just satellite state"He sighed"But well. I just must to get used to live as a civilian, after you dissolve our parties."

Macron just nodded and shook hands with 1st Secretary.

"Okay, people. Let's go"Saltarski said.

With these words, all adjutants and Witches left the stadium.

Back at base…

When everyone was back at base, Storm Witches approached other Witches.

"Can we now get some explanation?"Kitano asked.

"Sure. Let's find ourselves a comfy place to tell"Minna said.

Witches found a table for themselves and started to tell everything. They started from the beginning of war, next came to when they arrived there, including Battle of ORP Cracow, how they joined Military High Schools, Operation: America Libre, failed terrorist attack in London, Operation: Night Torch, Shirley's little adventure in Los Angeles and how they made their way through France from Normandy.

After listening to all of this, Storm Witches, even Marseille, had their jaws dropped.

"You saying, that Neuroi never existed her and in this world, people were fighting only each other?"Keiko asked.

"Yes. Even in 1940s they weren't fighting Neuroi, but war known as World War 2, the biggest war in this world history"Rosman replied.

31st members just looked at each other.

"So what now?"Raisa asked.

"Now, when we liberated Paris, we're going to make a party tonight, so you can wait"Shirley provided.

Next, Strike and Brave Witches stood up, leaving Storm Witches alone.

XXX

 **Well, chapter 12's done. Now I'm going to end second School Chapter.**

Kanno: Didn't you though about changing School Chapters into another story?

 **You see, I though about it. But I still can't decide. Maybe you can tell me in the comments?**

Krupinski: Seeing frequency of comments to your stories?

 **Okay, whatever.** **When it comes to Matilda's surname, because it's unknown, I had to make one myself.**

 **Now, I can sa** **y.** **See you in the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 13

**Once the battle is over, there's always time for celebration. And one enemy is defeated, so everyone have now time for little more calm and (I hope) humor filled chapter.**

Nikka: Sounds nice.

Hikari: Yeah. Let's do this party.

 **Sure. I was about to say.**

Kanno: Just start.

 **Okay. Here it is.**

Chapter 13

,,R&R party"

August 26, 2022

20:32

Bois de Bologne Park

After the battle and capitulation of French Commune, command decided to do another party for both Regulars and Military High Schoolers. Everything was prepared, scene was st up, snacks and drinks were ordered and soldiers could take their vests and helmets off.

 **Break the Rules-Charli XCX**

"And you're saying, that Chinese attacked everyone because of this whole Nitrosium?"Marseille asked.

"You see. In this world, natural resources were always one of things making wars starting and China had no Nitrosium"Minna replied.

Witches were sitting at the table brought especially for them. All of them, except of Storm Witches, were wearing their combat uniforms, but without vests, with Shirley also wearing patrol cap.

"You know what? Now it seems, like our war with Neuroi is like night walk on the beach"Raisa stated.

Others just nodded.

"And where are Barkhorn and Hartmann?"Marseille asked.

Witches just threw up their arms. Right then, Helena and Natalia came up to them.

"Can we sit?"Helena asked.

"Sure thing"Shirley replied and moved.

The Czech and Slovak sat down next to Witches. Meanwhile, Marseille smiled belligerently.

"I see that Siscon finally was gracious to show up"she said.

In response, Helena tilted her head left.

"How did you just called me?"Helena asked.  
"Because you are Siscon, don't doubt it"Marseille continued.

Before Helena could reply, Barkhorn and Erica also came and sat at the table. Barkhorn was wearing her standard forest camouflage uniform with bulletproof jacket, while Erica was in standard German infantryman uniform.

"Sorry for being late"Barkhorn said"Ursula asked me if I can help her with checking tank chassis".

"How?"Sadako asked.

"I had to lift tank up, so she could enter under it with flashlight".

"And I was watching"Erica added.

When Erica turned to Storm Witches, she saw their jaws dropped. And she exactly knew what is reason of it.

"I think I see doubly"Matilda stated.

"No. You don't see doubly"Natalia said.

31st once more looked at Natalia and Helena, then on Barkhorn and Erica. They did it five more times, before they stated, that they're not have any problems with sight.

"But…how?"Inagaki asked.

"Well. This is one of things that make this world interesting. Some of us, if not all, have their doubles here"Shirley said"Barkhorn and Erica have Helena and Natalia. I have Crystal. Lucchini have Lina. Sanya has Conzuela. Man, even you two have doubles".

When she said last words, she pointed at Marseille and Raisa. Two Afrika Korps Witches looked at each other.

"Really?"Raisa asked.

"Yup. Your double"Pokryshkin said, pointing at Marseille"is named Chica Moreno and is from Colombia, while yours"she pointed at Raisa"is from Suriname and her name is Tess de Jong".

Two Witches once again looked at each other.

 **Radioactive-Imagine Dragons**

Meanwhile, Inagaki was with curiosity looking at Shirley's uniform.

"How are you even managed to fit in it?"she asked.

Shirley just waved her hand.

"My uniforms in school were made on order. Like Crystal's"Shirley replied"I wouldn't fit into normal uniform or bulletproof vest because of…ya know".

They nodded.

"And what about this glove you're still wearing?"Keiko added.

Liberian Witch looked at other members of her unit. Minna nodded.

"Show them"she said.

A little smile appeared on Shirley's face when she reached the glove and took it off.

Storm Witches widened their eyes after seeing what's under it. It was a robotic hand, instead of normal one. Shirley squeezed the hand and this move looked more naturally than robotic.

"What the…"Matilda asked in disbelief.

"It's a little souvenir after Los Angeles"Shirley replied, and after seeing 31st questioning looks, she explained"Back in LA, I had little meeting with Chinese with machete. After this, my right hand stayed there".

"It had to hurt"Raisa stated.

"And how much. But, thanks to Natalia's sister and her coworker, with some help of Japanese robotics specialist, I received this"Shirley continued"To your information: Japanese here is the same as Fusoan back in our world".

During their talk, American Humvee driven by the road next to their table.

"Hi Shirley!"said the girl sitting behind the wheel.

Shirley's face immediately changed into scared one.

"Please, tell me it wasn't been Carly Jensen!"she pleaded.

As per her words, everyone heard sound of crush. When they turned, they saw the same Humvee crashed into tree, with Jensen looking through the window.

"Whoops"she said.

"How?!"Shirley shouted"You was going around five miles per hour?!"

"Sorry, I don't know"Carly replied.

Liberian Witch just shook her head.

"I finally must tell her to stop driving cars she repair"Shirley stated.

Barkhorn then turned to Marseille:

"I must warn you. You have to look out for Anton Shrauf".

"Why, Siscon?"Marseille replied.

She winced after hearing this.

"First, don't call me like that"Barkhorn pointed out"Second, because your double did something wrong to him, back in 2020".

"What she did?"

 **Yo contigo, Tú conmigo-Morat & Alvaro Soler**

"She refused to help his surrounded squad, what resulted in only Anton surviving"Minna replied.

"And trust, he would likely kill her"Krystian said.

All Witches, Natalia and Helena turned, to see him sitting at the another table, with Riley on his knees. In his hand, he had brush. They didn't even noticed him.

"How long have you been sitting there?"Natalia asked.

"All the time. I wonder how you didn't noticed me"he replied, moving the brush through Riley's back.

Some of fur caught the brush, which pulled them too strong and Riley growled.

"It's not my fault. Now, sit more calmly, I have to somehow comb this whole dried blood from you"Saltarski said to her.

Riley looked at him and again put her head on his knees.

"He seems to really care about this dog"Kitano noticed.

"Riley and Christian are close since he joined Polish Army High School"Hikari said"I once asked him about it and he told me, that he received her as a puppy. She had to grow up on his unit mascot. But later, they just couldn't live without each other and ultimately his general let him to take her as his own dog".

"You don't even know, how my family was surprised, when I entered to house with her"he added.

Right then, announcer entered the stage and said:

"That was Gilan's Band with song of Morat and Alvaro Soler. Next segment of our show will be performed by no one other, than captain Anton Shrauf!"

Anton entered the stage, dressed in black jacket and blue jeans pants. On his arm he had suspended guitar.

"I didn't knew he plays guitar"Krupinski said.

"Anton have many talents you still don't know"Krystian replied.

Meanwhile, Anton took the guitar, came up to microphone and said:

"This song is for my girlfriend, Crystal".

Next, he started to play guitar and singing:

 **All my life I've wondered why**

 **I keep fighting all the tides**

 **For million reasons that I find**

 **But I might, I might be all wrong**

 **I've hit highs and I hit lows**

 **But somewhere down the winding road**

 **It felt like I could lose it all**

 **But I might, I might be all wrong**

 **A storm like this**

 **Can break a man like this**

 **But when it all calms down**

 **We're still safe and sound**

 **All my life I've tried to find**

 **The meaning of what's left behind**

 **They say it's life itself, but I**

 **Feel it might, it might be all wrong**

 **A storm like this**

 **Can break a man like this**

 **But when it all calms down**

 **We're still safe and sound**

 **A storm like this**

 **Can break a man like this**

 **But when it all calms down**

 **We'll be safe and sound**

 **Even if the sky falls down**

 **We can turn it all around**

 **We'll escape the darkest clouds**

 **And we'll be safe and sound**

 **Wherever we may go**

 **Whatever happens down the road**

 **However far from home**

 **I know we won't let go**

 **A storm like this**

 **Can break a man like this**

 **And when it all calms down**

 **We'll be safe and sound**

 **Even if the sky falls down**

 **We can turn it all around**

 **We'll escape the darkest clouds**

 **And we'll be safe and sound**

 **Storm like this**

 **Can break a man lie this**

 **And when it all calms down**

 **We'll be safe and sound**

 **In no time the storm will end**

 **And it'll be alright again**

 **The battle scars won't matter then**

 **But I might, I might be all wrong**

When he ended, Anton bowed in half, while everyone, even Storm Witches, started to clap. But Anton, however, didn't ended.

He came up to microphone and said:

"Listen. Before I go, I still have one thing to do. Crystal, can you come here?"

Crystal, a bit confused by this, stood up and went on the stage. Storm Witches, with surprise, saw, that she actually looks the same as Shirley, only with different hair and eyes color.

"Okay, I think we need to get used to them"Keiko stated.

Meanwhile, Crystal already stood next to Anton.

"So, what do you need?"she asked.

"To answer one specific question"Anton replied.

Next, he reached his back pocket and took from there a small, red box. Then, he knelt on one knee and opened the box, showing golden ring.

"Will you marry me?"

Crystal just stood there, stunned, while everyone just looked at the stage, waiting on her answer. Soon, a smile formed on her face and a little tear came down her cheek. Next, she gave the short, but matter-of-fact answer:

"Yes".

Anton stood up and took the ring out of box. He grabbed Crystal's hand and placed ring on her middle finger.

Before Anton orientated, Crystal threw herself on him and they both were standing there, kissing passionately. Anton was feeling her tongue trying to enter his mouth, so he answered with the same thing.

Meanwhile, everyone just started to clap and whistling, congratulating them.

"(whistle) Great job, man!"someone shouted!

"We wish you best of luck!"Minna added.

"Never expected to see something like that"Marseille said.

When the kissing stopped, the two left the stage and another band entered.

 **New Divide-Linkin Park**

"Finally, after three years of being couple"Saltarski said.

"So they are together for so long?"Lynette asked.

"Yeah, I met them during NATO Teenage Maneuvers 2019 in Norway. Very interesting story"He continued to clear Riley's fur."I tell you someday".

Right then, Chris came up to Lynette and patted her arm.

"What is it, Chris?"she asked.

"It's little present for you, sweetheart"he replied.

Next, he pulled a hand, which he was hiding behind his back, to show her a bouquet of blue tulips. Lynette looked at this with surprise.

"Where did you found it?"she asked.

"I had to jump to another city, to find working florist shop"Chris replied."Hope you appreciate it".  
"Of course I do"Lynette replied and kissed him.

This made Storm Witches wide their eyes.

"Oh, right. This is Chris Hunter, Lynn's boyfriend"Minna explained.

In the same time, Yoshika watched at two kissing with little jealousy.  
"Perverted thoughts?"Eila, which was sitting next to her, asked.

Yoshika immediately shook her head, with her cheeks turning red.

"N-No. N-N-N-Nothing like this at all"Yoshika replied, stuttering.

Eila just sent her truculent smile.

"I maybe go for a little walk"Yoshika said, standing up.

She walked away, leaving Witches and Chris.

Sanya pulled Eila's sleeve. Suomus Witch looked at her Orussian companion, which shook her head.

"Bad, Eila"Sanya said.

"What did I done?"Eila replied, asking.

Chris sat down on place left by Yoshika.

"Is she okay?"the boy asked.

"Let's just say that she's…"Lynette was looking for good word"…specific".

Chris nodded, not knowing what she meant by this.

 **7 Rings-Ariana Grande**

Barkhorn wanted to take another sip of her drink, but when there was nothing left after this. She didn't noticed when she drank all.

"Okay, I'm going to get myself something more to drink. Be right back"she said and stood.

She walked away, when Sakamoto said after her:

"Can you also bring…"

But before she ended, Perrine grabbed her cup, and said:

"I'll do it for you, Major!"

Next, she followed Barkhorn. Natalia shouted after her:

"Hey! If you can, bring me some…!"

However, her words were stopped by Helena, which placed her hand on Natalia's mouth. She looked at her with anger, mixed with…fear?

"No. You're not gonna drink anymore alcohol. That one time last year was enough"Helena exclaimed.

"Hey! And why you can drink so much beer?"Natalia questioned.

Helena smiled and replied:

"I have stronger head than you".

"So this is a beer?"Nikka asked.

"Yeah. Remember, that I'm already in age letting to drink"Helena pointed out.

Then, Krystian threw his word into conversation:

"Czechs drink more beer per person than other nations in Europe".

"True as heck"Natalia added.

Witches looked at Helena.

"And why she can't drink? What happened last year?"Raisa asked.

"I put this in that way"Helena started to explain"There are five stages of penetration of alcohol into the blood: wise, handsome, rich, immortal and invisible, exactly in this order".

"There are also intermediate stages, but it's different story"Saltarski added.

Helena pointed at him, admitting him right.

"Last year, Natalia was drinking on our friend's birthday. And in first fifteen minutes, Natalia went through all these stages"she continued.

"Wow. Hard"Marseille admitted.

"Yeah. But well. There's one little problem"Helena looked at Natalia.

 **Stamp On The Ground-ItaloBrothers**

"What kind of problem?"Keiko asked.

"She has sixth stage: sexmachine, as someone said"Helena replied"That night, I almost lost my virginity with her. I had to knock her out".

"Interesting story"Rall said, with little unsureness.

"That's how I'm"Natalia said.

At the same time…

Barkhorn was pour new drink to her cup. When she did this, she turned and wanted to walk away. But instead, she almost collided with someone.

"Wow, sorry"the boy replied.

"No, I'm the one to say…"Barkhorn stopped.

It was that boy with navy blue eyes and hair. Again, she just couldn't take her eyes off him, although she tried.

"Is everything okay?"he asked.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry once more"she said, taken out of reverie.

Boy then gave his hand to her.

"Rudy. Rudy Riedel"he introduced himself.

"Gertrude Barkhorn"she gave her hand to him.

"So nice to meet you personally, Trude"Rudy said.

Barkhorn was feeling her cheeks turning red.

"How do you know my nickname?"she asked.

"My little sister's name is Gertrude too"Rudy explained"I heard about your doings as Panzerbrigade 4 commander. I really am impressed"he provided"See ya later".

"Yeah. And I'm just doing my job"Barkhorn simply replied.

He then walked away, leaving Barkhorn alone. She simply decided to return back to the table.

When she sat down, Erica looked at her.

"Are you okay, Trude?"Erica asked.

"Of course. Why do you ask?"Barkhorn replied.

"You have red cheeks".

Barkhorn turned her gaze and looked somewhere else.

"It's nothing. Really"she said.

 **Friend Of A Friend-Lake Malawi**

Then, an sinister smile appeared on Erica's face.

"You fell in love?"Erica asked.

"WHAT?!"Barkhorn shouted, turning back.

Marseille laughed after hearing that.

"Who would ever loved such hard-headed Siscon?"she asked, still laughing.

Next events were just matter of seconds. Barkhorn activated her familiar and, with usage of her Super Strength hit Erica and Marseille in heads. Not soon after, the two was laying on the tables, faces down to countertop.

"YOU EVER SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT ONCE MORE AND I PROMISE! I WON'T BE SO DELICATE NEXT TIME!"Barkhorn promised.

Others just looked at her with mix of fear and shock.

"You didn't had to…"Minna tried to say, but Barkhorn stopped her.

"IF ANY OF YOU TRY TO TOUCH THIS SUBJECT, YOU END LIKE THEM!"Barkhorn shouted in her face.

Meanwhile, Saltarski tried to calm down Riley, which after hearing Barkhorn, cuddled into him with fear.

"Easy, doggy. She'll not hurt you"he said, stroking Riley's backs.

Only answer was just series of whine and squeaking.

"S-Sorry. I…"Barkhorn tried to say, after she calmed down.

"It's nothing. We won't ask you about it anymore"Rosman provided.

Right then, music ended and everyone heard:

"Friend of a friend of a friend!"

Everyone turned in that direction and Helena just stopped singing.

"Sorry. I just love Lake Malawi and I can't stop myself from singing their songs"Helena explained.

"To this, we have add that Lake Malawi is Czech music band"Natalia added, watching some stupid videos on her phone.

Storm Witches with curiosity looked at the phone in Natalia's hands.

"What is it?"Raisa asked.

"Let me say it"Sadako said"It's a phone".

Witches with disbelief looked at Natalia's phone.

"Phone? It's not looking like phone"Keiko said.

"It's mobile phone. Phone, which you can take almost everywhere"Rall explained"We all get those".

As she said that, other Witches reached their pockets and took their iPhones. Storm Witches looked at this with surprise.

"At the beginning, from what I know, such phones had keyboard occupying half of it. But as the technology progressed, everything was replaced with touchscreen"Lynette explained.

"And is more comfortable, in my opinion"Chris added, wrapping his arm around Lynette's waist.

Erica and Marseille then started to retake awareness. They both looked at Barkhorn and covered with hands, ready for another hit.

"Easy. It passed away already"she provided.

Two Witches sighed after hearing this. But Marseille immediately returned to her wicked behavior:

"I knew that Siscons like you let go fast".

Barkhorn tightened her fists, but Erica put her hand on her arm, to calm her down.

Right then, Hisako approached the table and came up to Minna.

"It's our turn"she said.

"I'm coming"Minna provided.

She stood up and, with Hisako, she walked away.

"Excuse, but what are they doing?"Matilda asked.

"Let's just say, that Minna and Hisako prepared performance with usage of one of songs of one of Polish comic groups. Originally, in this song, there was father and son singing, but you probably guessed how it'll look in their case"Shirley explained.

Perrine returned and gave drink to Sakamoto.

"And James and Henri are also playing in it"she said.

"Who?"Marseille asked.

"Henri is member of my squadron".

"And James is my brother"Chris added.

Sadako then turned to Saltarski:

"You know what will they be singing?"

"I do. And I have to say it. When I first time listened to it, I just fuc…Praised"he replied.

Before he ended, a man in Polish uniform passed by them. On his neck, he had white piece of material wrapped around it.

"Forever and ever"he replied and walked away.

Witches looked at him and turned back to Saltarski.

"Who was that?"Nikka asked.

"Our unit chaplain. He really hates every curse"Krystian explained.

"Who is chaplain?"Kitano asked.

"Priest in military"Krupinski replied.

"Who is priest?"Matilda questioned.

Sakamoto just supported her head with her hand.

"We tell you sometime later"she provided.

"It's starting!"Krystian said.

Everyone turned their eyesight to the stage, where Hisako dressed in normal black thighs, blue skirt and white T-Shirt entered.

"Mom! Mom! Mom!"she said to microphone.

In response, Minna, dressed in jeans pants and navy-blue jacket, entered the stage with quick steps and looked around.

"What are you screaming at?"she asked.

"I'm scared, so I scream"Hisako replied.

"So don't be scared, don't scream"Minna said calmly.

Hisako pointed her finger at Minna.

"You see, it'll be the same as every year, I tell you, it always ends the same way"the Polish-Japanese said with reproach.

"No, no, no. This year, we're prepared"Minna said with certainty"Door?"

"Locked"Hisako replied.

"Windows?"

"Secured".

"Is there camouflage in family?"

"There is camouflage in family"Hisako confirmed.

Minna nodded and asked:

"Good. So. Who is dressed as what?"

"Granny wrapped herself up in carped and plays pancake".

Witch drew her eyebrows.

"It's stupid"she stated.

"Well, this is granny"Hisako simply said, spinning her pointing finger next to her head.

"And grandpa?"

"He plays Christmas tree".

"Again?"Minna asked with surprise.

Hisako looked around and said with unhappy smile:

"At least, this year he hid baubles".

Some people laughed, when they understood.

 **Zodiak na melanżu (Zodiac on melange)-Monopol (Monopoly)**

"They're coming"Minna noticed.

"Again they're coming and again it end the same way, I don't like it anymore, it's the same every year"Hisako pointed out.

"Right, right, just pretend that we're not at home".

Hisako then turned and shouted behind the stage:

"Dad! Turn off the light!"

Minna quickly knelt on the ground, with Hisako following her.

After that, James dressed in cassock and Henri dressed as acolyte, with jumpy step, came through the stage. They came up to imagined doors, knocked and finally…opened them with kick, with chorus accompanying them whole the time:

 **After carol, we're walking after carol, yeah!**

 **You and me, we're walking for years!**

 **Super squad, we're walking for years!**

Two boys left the stage, while Minna and Hisako started singing:

 **We on carol have fat permanent.**

 **Breaking intercom, kid locks the home.**

 **We ordered granny to gag the dog.**

 **Father watches where's priest on the staircase!**

The two quickly knelt again, while James and Henri again entered the stage, still dressed the same, but this time wearing balaclavas. They came up to another door, and knocked, again breaking them with kick, still with chorus playing.

Hisako & Minna:

 **Here you don't see when you have eye at Judah eye,**

 **Because we bought anti-carol door!**

 **But I look, how they entered to neighbor?**

 **With equipment help they opened him!**

James and Henri entered stage with cold sparkler, imitating gas burner. Henri opened another imagined door with it, and again the two broke them with kick.

Hisako & Minna:

 **Neighbor didn't planned to accept the priest,**

 **probably that's why he now holy the tap water.**

 **Acolyte have troubles with entering door,**

 **'cuz he's filled with carols!**

James entered with few envelops in his hands, while Henri was so flatulent, that he was barely moving. British packed the envelopes under Henri's clothes and pushed him to another door.

Music calmed down a little and Hisako and Minna slowly stood up, singing:

 **Rolled up in carpet, I lay under bed.**

 **I think they went, we made it, I can't believe.**

 **But wait a minute, there are noises in the living room.**

 **There four boots, two dresses over them.**

Boys came up to Hisako and Minna, with James having rope on his neck and Henri carrying holy water.

Hisako & Minna:

 **How this is possible?**

 **You're in our house?**

James:

 **It's pretty simple!**

 **We entered through balcony!**

Hisako and Minna started to wring their hands, because priest finally entered the home. They had to somehow make it through this.

They quickly stood up in line, with smiles on their faces. James dipped the sprinkler in holy water.

"Well then"Minna started, while Hisako gave envelop to James"such modest donation, in the name of our family…"Minna pointed at Hisako"We're together, generally. Family, together…"

Before Minna ended, Henri splashed all the water over her face. With defeated expression, she reached under her jacket and pulled another envelop from there, giving it to James.

After that, boys and Hisako left the stage, leaving only Minna, which turned to everyone and, with sad face, only threw up her arms. Next, she left the stage too.

Back at the Witches's table, Keiko nodded her head.

"I didn't knew she has comic part"she said.

"You know that non of us did?"Sakamoto replied.

"But when did they had time to learn the lyrics of this song?"Marseille questioned.

"They were learning between the battles. Until now, they had no time to sing it"Barkhorn explained.

Meanwhile, announcer entered the stage and said:

"Bravo for Hisako Nikamura, Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke, James Hunter and Henri Macron! This song was an intro the cabaret part of our party. We have one sketch and two more songs, prepared from initiative of captain Krystian Saltarski".

Krystian only nodded his head.

"The sketch was prepared by second lieutenant Diana Szczera, lieutenant Adrian Zapała and captain Janos Kiss! Say hello to 'Husband's Return"!"announcer ended.

Meanwhile, Minna was again sitting with Witches.

"And what will you say?"she asked.

"I have to admin, I didn't knew you from this side"Rall admitted.

"I just thought, that I can't always be so serious"Minna said with smile.

Back on the stage, there already were hanger, table with bottle and a bush in the flowerpot.

Then, the sound of opened door lock was heard.

"Shhhh!"Diana's voice said.

"What?"Janos asked.

"I think I heard something"Diana replied.

Next sound was sound of opened door.

"Jesus Christ, it's my husband! Hide!"Diana ordered"Fast!"

After that, Janos ran through the stage…completely naked, covering his crotch with his hands, and hid behind the bush. It was welcomed by claps and laughs.

Diana, dressed in dressing-gown, appeared on the stage. Adrian entered, dressed in dark gray pants, black coat and, gray cap and black gloves, with suitcase in his hand.

"Hi"he said to Diana.

"Hi, honey"Diana replied.

"Come here"he said.

Diana came up to him and Adrian kissed her on the cheek. Next, he started to undress and hung everything on the hanger.

"You're home earlier"Diana stated.

"Yeah. And why aren't you sleeping?"Adrian asked.

"Nah, it's nothing. I couldn't sleep. I was just…throwing myself around the bed"girl replied unsteadily.

"You know, Stefan was going out earlier, so I though I'll go with him. Because, why do I have to stay one more night at work?"Adrian explained.

Girl just again looked towards the bush, behind which Janos was hiding.

"And why are you breathless like that?"Adrian suddenly asked.

"Me?"Diana replied, pretending surprise"Breathless? I was running out…my thoughts to you. And I just was tired, with this running out".

Adrian then looked at the table and smiled.

"Oh, ho, Marzena. I see that someone really waited on me"Adrian said happily. He came up and took the bottle"Wine? And to this, my favorite one".

"Yours too?"Diana asked.

In response, Adrina looked at her suspiciously, so she quickly corrected herself:

"I mean, of course, of course. Because ho to greet husband without wine? It's like…"she looked for good comparison"…reading without glasses".

Meanwhile, boy looked at the bottle and frowned eyebrows.

"Wait a minute"he said"Why is this half drunk?"

He looked at Diana, which started to be scared.

"Marzena, tell me the truth"Adrian demanded"Do you have alcohol problems?"

With this, a small smile of relief appeared on her face.

"No, no. Don't panic"Diana said calmly.

"For sure?"Adrian continued to ask.

"For sure, really"Diana sat on the chair"I was watching TV and drank a little.

"What was you watching at this time?"he asked, looking at his watch.

"I don't know, don't know"girl replied"Such female things like…Polsat Cafe".

Adrian looked at her with little surprise.

"Polsat Cafe? What can you watch on Polsat Cafe in the night?"Adrian questioned" _Zdrady_?"

After hearing the title of this TV program, Diana lightly widened her eye, because you know, eye patch, from fear. Everyone started clapping and laughing.

"Ha, ha. No, no"Diana said nervously.

Boy in the meantime hung his coat on the hanger.

"You don't know…You don't know what you're watching?"Adrian asked jokingly"I always can recognize treason".

His assurance didn't made Diana clam. Adrian then sat on the second chair.

"Sit down, tell, how it was in work?"Diana asked.

"I tell, you it was nice. Nice, pleasantly. Grudziądz is really beautiful city"he said, taking bottle and poring wine into the glass"But you know, how long can you sit there? I was bored. And I missed by teddy bear"He smiled"And you?"

"What me?"Diana asked casually.

"Did you missed me?"

Diana nodded her head like she just understood.

"Ah, of course I did missed you. I was counting hours to your arrival"Diana said, stroking his head.

"And what?"Adrian asked, comforted by the stroking.

"And I miscalculated"Diana replied silently.

Boy just took the glass of wine and took a sip. Next, he reached his suitcase.

"I just reminded. I have a present for you"he said.

He opened it, reached inside and took photo album form there.

" _Grudziądz. City & Poviat_"he said"I'm often leaving you, so you can read in the meantime".

"Thank you very much"she said, putting it down.

Next, Adrian noticed one thing.

"Hey"he started"You moved this flower to the middle of room? There is…"

"There is nobody there"Diana quickly cut him off.

Adrian just looked around and continued.

"There is this trace after compote"he ended"This big flowerpot covered it all. Can't see anything".

"Actually, it's good"Diana stated with artificial smile.

Adrian stretched.

"And why are you so pale? What happened?"boy asked fondly.

"I…I…"Diana looked for good excuse"I missed a little breath".

"Oh my, oh my. Come here"Adrian said.

He grabbed Diana's hand and lead her right to the flower. Only reaction she had was a mix of fear and pretended joy.

"Stay next to this flower, there's more oxygen here"Adrian instructed"You breath better?"

"Of course I do"Diana nodded.

Adrian nodded his head.

"You see? I told you"Adrian said triumphantly.

He returned to the table. However, he didn't stopped talking:

"For example, in such wardrobe, you can't breath, because what's not there?"

"Because…there are…not…flowers"Diana replied unsteadily.

"Exactly!"Adrian commended her"I tell you, that it's good that I took coniferous one, not the leafy one. We almost have autumn, these leaves would fell down and it would be a bit nakedly here, ha, ha".

Diana again widened her eye a little and turned towards the flower, as everyone were clapping and laughing.

She nodded.

"Yeah. Nakedly"Diana replied"You just need to look out, to not prick with these needles".

Adrian turned to her.

"Why? Show your hands"he demanded.

He approached Diana and took her hand. He shook his head after seeing it.

"Marzena, what have I told you?"Adrian asked with reproach"You need to look out. Secure, you always have to secure yourself"As he was saying this, Diana was slowly turning her head"You're gonna remember?"

"Yes"Diana obediently replied.

Right then, everyone heard sound of sneezing. Diana immediately turned towards the flower, while Adrian started to look around.

"You heard that?"he asked"What was that?"

"Cat"Diana replied and Adrian turned his surprised eyes on her"It was surely cat".

As she said that, Adrian started to call the cat by 'Kitty, kitty, kitty'.

"It was surely cat!"Diana said louder.

In that moment, Janos, still behind the flower meowed several times and finally hissed.

"You see this damn thing? He never comes when I call it"Adrian said with reproach.

"And he enters my bed himself"Diana said, sitting down.

Adrian sat down too, again taking bottle and poured one more time.

"Beautiful flower"Adrian stated and Diana nodded"Look how it grown up. You remember when we bought it? It reached my arm then! Just like…Like…Like our neighbor, which lived there then. That funny one, short. Always when I returned from work, he was sitting there and saying 'I came only for sugar'"He shook his head"I don't know, people can't go buy sugar themselves?"

With his every word, Diana was laughing hesitantly.

"You see? I don't remember"she replied.

"Eh, I told you. Because you're so antisocial. I'm often not home and I told you, that you need to care about relations and cohabitation with neighbors"Adrian explained.

"I do what I can"Diana said nervously, with new laughs coming from audience.

Adrian drank his glass and stood up.

"I'm going to sleep now"he said"But first, I'll move this flower because it looks better…"

Before he could touch the flowerpot, Diana jumped on him and wrapped her hands around his neck.

"Hey, what are you…?!"Adrian exclaimed.

"No, there no need, just come here and sit back down"Diana nervously replied.

She left him, while taking his hand and leading him to the chair again. Adrian sat down and Diana put hands on his arms.

"Sit like that, drink some more wine, I'll do a massage to you"Diana said.

"Okay, okay I'll pour you, just…"And then, wine poured on the table"You see what you did? I now need to clean it up".

"No, I'll do it".

But Adrian already walked away, looking for something to clear the stain of wine on the table. Diana sat down and took the glass.

"There should be a cloth in drawer over washing machine!"Diana said to Adrian.

"No, I found something else. It was laying on chair"came Adrian's voice from behind the scenes.

He returned back on stage, carrying some piece of convoluted material. When Adrian developed it and tried to clear the poured wine, he noticed that it's…pair of boxer shorts. Diana tried to behave, like she never saw them, while Adrian looked at them from all sides.

"Oh, hell, you see? You can't try clothes on in Lidl, so I, by accident, bought male's ones"Diana tried to justify herself.

Adrian, now furious, folded shorts and threw them on the floor.

"Marzena!"he exclaimed"You're betraying me!"

"No, completely not"Diana still played good wife.

"In my own house!"Adrian continued to exclaim.

Boy then nodded in understanding.

"Oh, well. It's the fifth delegation, during which this cat was meowing fucking strange"Adrian said. Next, he turned to Diana"Where is he? Tell me, where the hell is he?!"

"But my love…"

"You had love just few minutes ago! Where is he, I ask?! You don't wanna talk, I'll find him myself! Come out you bastard!"

His eyes then stopped on the flower in flowerpot. Adrian nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Flower suddenly stood in the middle of room!"Adrian exclaimed. He turned to flower"Come out! Come out you bastard, or…"

But he stopped. Adrian unsteadily looked at Diana and at Janos behind flower.

"Well then"Adrian came up to Diana"Go tomorrow to shop, maybe they will give you female, instead of male's"He took boxer shorts and gave to her"Now, go to bed".

"Again? I mean, yes"Diana replied.

"There's no one there, go to bed, I'm gonna come here in few minutes"Adrian provided.

Diana left the stage, while Adrian came up to flower.

"Um"he started"When it come to this rise…"

Janos put his hand on Adrian's arm and said:

"We think about it".

Music started to play and both boys quickly left the stage.

"Bravo for our performers, especially for Janos Kiss! Nobody would be brave enough to enter stage in Adam's costume!"announcer said.

Meanwhile, Witches tried to stop laughing.

"I didn't expected such ending"Shirley admitted.

"But it's common that wife betrays husband with his boss"Natalia noticed.

Krystian, Chris and Minna then stood up.

"Where are you going again?"Raisa asked.

"We're gonna take part in next song. While Chris sings in the second one"Minna explained.

"Please, can you take care of Riley?"Saltarski asked Helena.

Helen nodded and Riley jumped on her knees. Then, whole three quickly ran towards the stage.

Meanwhile, announces continued:

"Captain Saltarski contacted guys from You Tube channel, The Warp Zone, and asked them for permission on performing two of their parody songs on live. And they agreed. So, first song is _Game of Thrones_ parody 'Dead Characters Medley'!"

By next few minutes, nothing was happening. Whole stage was then covered in darkness. When first light lightened up again, it showed Michael, wearing yellow dressing-gown and imitation of blood under his eyes. Next, 'Centuries' by Fall Out Boys started to play.

Michael:

 **When legends are told, they speak of men who are bold.**

 **But who will remember me? For loyalty or sex with me?**

 **Cause just one mistake can disfigure your face and regrettably**

 **That will be my legacy (Heeeyah x 2)**

 **My legacy, a parody.**

Light over Michael extinguished and new one, showing Minna and McFalton, turned on. Minna was dressed in dark brown dress and gray furry coat. Robert, sitting at the table, wore black cloak, silver breastplate and some other things resembling Robb Stark's outfit. Then, 'Dark Horse' song started.

Minna:

 **I feared we were, we were gonna be betrayed.**

 **So here we are. Special thanks to Walder Frey.**

 **And I feel I tried everything (Eh), tried everything (Eh), tried everything.**

 **Lannisters you can bite me. You massacred my family.**

 **But you will live in infamy. In infamy. In infamy!**

 **So you know my story's tragic, but it's a theme here in Westeros.**

 **Even when you stand for justice, you will end up just another Stark ghost (Hey!).**

 **So be ready for, ready for (Hey!),**

 **The Storm of Swords, Storm of Swords! (Hey! Hey!)**

 **Cause once you die, once you die! (Hey, hey, hey!)**

 **There's no going back.**

Next light turned on, showing James, sitting on chair stylized on Iron Throne, dressed in gold robe, blue sash and golden crown. Blood was coming from his nose and left eye, while his face was little bit blue. Song which was now playing, was 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift.

James:

 **Nice to see you, how you been, bet you miss having me as your King?**

 **Psychopathic, douchey grin, when you saw me you though:**

 **'I just want, to smash his face',**

 **I'm the one, you love to hate, don't you wish, I coulda stay!**

 **But I couldn't live forever, I was seen with too much disdain**

 **And I really had to suffer (Mm), I was bound to be mauled or slain**

 **Got a good long list of haters, who tried to end my reign**

 **But who knew that wine and poison, both taste the same!**

 **I was young, I was reckless. I took things way too far**

 **When I left Ned headless and gave whores nasty scars**

 **Got a good long list of haters, who think I'm super lame**

 **But I've got a blue face baby.**

 **And myself to blame.**

Then, no one other than Linchov entered in the light, dressed in dark gray uniform, with red sash and Hand of the King's badge. He elegantly combed his dark gray hair and grown up a little beard.

Linchov:

 **Oh, and I made every call behind the King,**

 **The puppet master pulling on the iron strings.**

 **All my decisions came into fruition**

 **The whole Kingdom's vision went dark whenever Tywin blinked**

 **But, no legacy has ever suffered this bad**

 **Every mug from my kids read number six dad**

 **I woulda back off but I didn't know**

 **Living for a game, would lead to death upon a shitty throne.**

Light again turned off and steps been heard. When it returned, it showed everyone who singed before, now with Eevi, Will, Janette and Rin, standing on podiums. Saltarski, however, was standing right in front of them, wearing wig of brown hair, what contrasted with his black beard. He was dressed in dark clothes and dark furry coat. Song 'Pompeii' by Bastille started.

Everyone:

 **Game of Thrones, Game of (x7)**

Saltarski:

 **You can watch, from all your devices!**

 **Anyday, anytime, on HBO Now!**

 **But my head went tumblin down, back in season number one!**

 **This game is win or be killed and we clearly haven't won.**

 **But if you press rewind**

 **Does it almost feel like we're not dead at all!**

 **And if you press rewind**

 **Does it almost feel like we had hope before!**

 **I wonder who will be the next to come and join us!**

 **I wonder who will be the next to come and join us!**

Everyone:

 **Game of Thrones, Game of (x4)**

When next time light turned off and again on, everyone was standing in one line and bowed. The response was in form of claps and whistles.

"Big claps for our performers! Michael Johnson as Oberyn Martell, Rin Tomori as Sedona, Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke as Catelyn Stark, Robert McFalton as Robb Stark, James Hunter as Joffrey Baratheon, Aleksander Linchov as Tywin Lannister, Will Williams as Mance Ryder, Janette Nancharde as Ygritte, Eevi Nieminen as Talisa Stark and Krystian Saltarski as Eddard Stark!"announcer said"Now, we need to prepare for another song, so next few minutes you must wait".

By these few minutes, Minna and Saltarski returned back on their sits.

"That was cool, I must say"Hikari said.

"Thank you. It was really hard to learn all this text"Minna replied"I only know, that this what I was singing referred to so-called 'Red Wedding' from _Song of Ice and Fire_ universe".

"Red Wedding was wedding of Robb Stark and Talisa Maegyr, which ended with massacre of more important Stark allies, done by Roose Bolton and Walder Frey himself"Helene explained.

All eyes at the table turned on her.

"What?"she asked, throwing her arms up"I read all _Song of Ice and Fire_ books. Now I'm just waiting until sixth one will be translated to Czech".

"In other ways, thanks for explaining"Rosman said.

Meanwhile, announcer again entered the scene and said:

"Everything is ready! Say hello to 'Game of Thrones Medley'"!

'Titanium' by Sia started and again, first light turned on. It showed Crystal, in blue dress and white booths, with some king of braid wrapped around her head.

Crystal:

 **They sold me out but underestimated me.**

 **I am the last of my kind.**

 **More than a queen, I'm loved and feared as Khaleesi**

 **And understand, all men must die.**

 **I'm fireproof with dragons loose**

 **Fly away, fly away.**

 **Set ablaze my enemies**

 **Fly away, fly away.**

 **With fire and blood, from Dragonstone, I'm Targaryen!**

 **I will reclaim, the Iron Throne, I'm Targaryen!**

Light turned off and song easily transferred from 'Titanium' to 'Roar' by Katy Perry. When light turned on again, Charles, Laura and Chris standing behind the table were visible. Charles elegantly combed his blonde hair and dressed black pants, black glove on right hand and white shirt with red shawl and black belt. Laura wear red dress with gold additions and had dissolved hair. And Chris had blonde wig, red vest with gold decorations and black shirt and had cup in his hand.

Charles:

 **I am the Kingslayer used to be the best**

 **But recently my luck is mostly left**

 **Me poor and dirty, without my Cersei.**

Chris:

 **I may indulge in prostitutes and wine**

 **But I'm the one who hasn't lost his mind**

 **I am but half a man**

 **Worth double in my pants.**

Laura:

 **Can't hold us down or send us threats**

 **We're always gonna pay our debts**

 **We have blonde hair and real sharp wits.**

Everyone:

 **We have green eyes of a liar, require our status to be higher**

 **Cuz we are the Lannisters**

 **Our motto is Hear Me Roar**

 **Prouder, prouder than a lion**

 **Cuz we are the Lannisters**

 **And you're gonna hear us**

 **Roar, Roar**

 **You're gonna hear us Roar!**

Music changed into 'Monster' by Rihhana and Eminem, light appeared over next group. McFalton was again dressed as Robb Stark, while Adrian was wearing fully black armor, cloak and wig and, surprisingly, Etsuko, wearing brown, ragged vest, brown pants, white shirt and had thin sword with her.

Etsuko:

 **We're friends with the dire wolf and three eyed ravens**

 **Familiar with tragic and violent deaths**

 **Can we catch a break please, we're trying our best**

 **Swear Winter is Coming, yeah Winter is Coming**

 **But not quite yet! (Whoo-o-o x5)**

Adrian:

 **I wanted a name but not the title of bastard**

 **Oh well, guess I'll have to take dad's word**

 **He said I'm still a Stark but my influence is backward**

 **Instead of honor in the watch all I found was a fat nerd**

 **Even though I swore the oath to the crows**

 **And joined the free folk**

 **And now I know the moral code is more like a clean joke**

 **No laughter, I'm not the one to say crass words**

 **But Ygritte knows I'm an oral master**

 **Just ask her.**

McFalton:

 **Robert**

 **Like the former King, only harder**

 **The Young Wolf renowned heart stopper**

 **Never liked a double crosser**

 **With no sense of justice or honor**

 **I'll just have you slaughtered! (Oh!)**

 **You haven't heard? I was working on a massacre**

 **From Baratheons to Greyjoys and Lannisters**

 **Then I chose love over Walder's daughter**

 **Now I watch over the North like my father (Father).**

Soundtrack changed into the final one, 'Demons' by Imagine Dragons, and all lights on the stage turned on, showing everyone.

Everyone:

 **Not a comfy seat, it bears greed and lies**

 **The Iron Throne is mine (x2),**

 **In Westeros it's win or die**

 **The Iron Throne is mine (x4).**

When song ended, everyone came up to edge of stage and quickly bowed.

"And once more, big claps for performers!"announcer exclaimed"House Targaryen: Crystal Le Fem as Daenerys Targaryen. House Lannister: Charles Rantois as Jaime Lannister, Laura Rantois as Cersei Lannister and Christopher Hunter as Tyrion Lannister. House Stark: Etsuko Hugomori as Arya Stark, Adrian Zapała as Jon Snow and Robert McFalton again as Robb Stark!"

The response was again given in form of claps and whistles. All performers quickly left the stage.

"Eh, I even don't complain that we landed in this world"Keiko stated"It's even fun".

"Wait until you land on the frontlines"Kanno said.

"Yeah, that's maybe the harder part"Hikari admitted.

Keiko's face darkened.

Meanwhile, Chris returned, again dressed in his uniform. He quickly sat down next to Lynette and again wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Um. I hope you don't take this what I singed seriously"Chris said, looking at Lynette.

"Of course not. I know it was just song"Lynette replied.

Chris just smiled.

"How long you are together, if I can ask?"Kitano asked.

"Almost three weeks"Chris replied.

"Oh. Longer than I though"Kitano admitted"When did you became couple?"

"Maybe better stop asking so personal questions"Matilda advised her.

"No, it's nothing"Chris provided"It happened after all this affair with unsuccessful terrorist attack on Westminster Palace".

Kitano tilted her head.

"Okay, maybe I'll not be going into details"she stated.

 **Summer Paradise-Simple Plan ft. Sean Paul**

Suddenly, Natalia widened her eyes at something she was seeing on her phone.

"Holy shit"she said.

"What is it?"Helena asked.

Natalia showed phone to Helena, which reacted the same.

"Holy shit"Helena said.

"What is it?"Krupinski asked.

Natalia showed her phone and Witch read the thing out loud:

"European Parliament declares creation of new country".

Storm Witches, and even other Strike and Brave Witches, looked confused after reading this. Krupinski was reading more:

"At the special meeting of European Parliament in Exile, David Sassoli, chairman of European Parlament declared foundation of United State of Europe. 'Such moves are needed in dark times'he says'Because of all what Chinese did to Europe, we now must stand and fight, not as French, German, Spanish or Swedish. W need to fight as one nation. As Europeans'. Later, special voting took place, on which it had to be decided if European Union will be united or stays divided. The ones which wanted this, won by only five votes".

Natalia scrolled forward and Krupinski read more:

"Prime minister of EU, Jean-Claude Juncker said that 'although European Union may be now united, all countries will still have their sovereignty'. Structure of new state have to be the same as in case of United States, with more countries allowed to join in the future. Albania, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina already asked for permission to join the USE".

Everyone looked at each other, with Helena and Natalia shaking their heads.

"Europe is in this war for two years, and just now they came up with this idea. I don't say it can be bad, but they could think about it when Chinese entered Poland"Helena stated.

"So what this mean now?"Lucchini asked.

"It means, that now, we have to also wear EU flag on our uniforms"Saltarski replied.

"And that we now actually have several Military High School for one country"Natalia ended.

Storm Witches looked at each other.

"Sorry, but what is European Union?"Kitano asked.

"International organization created in 1993 to unite nations of Europe and prevent any conflicts between European countries. It was successor of European Coal and Steel Community and European Economic Community"Saltarski explained"But now, we'll be having United State of Europe, as you heard".

"But we'll be worrying about this tomorrow. Let's have fun by the rest of the night!"Lucchini exclaimed.

All Witches nodded their heads and raised a toast.

Meanwhile…

Somewhere else in the park

Yoshika was sitting at the edge of lake. It was not true, that she had any perverted thoughts about Lynn. But maybe sometimes…

"No. Never. Completely never"Yoshika said, shaking her head.

"I was looking for you, you know?"Shin said.

He came up to Yoshika and sat down next to her.

"Why?"Yoshika replied.

"Well. I wanted to talk to you about something"Shin explained"You don't mind if I ask you something?"

"No".

"You have any kind of boyfriend?"

Witch looked at Shin with surprise.

"Where did this question comes from?"she asked.

"You see…I can put it in this way".

Shin then started to move his face closer to Yoshika's face. Before young Witch could notice, Shin just kissed her.

She couldn't say that she didn't liked it. Actually, this was even relaxing. She didn't knew, that such kiss can be relaxing.

When Shin stopped, Yoshika was feeling as her face turns red. Meanwhile, a smile appeared on Shin's face.

"I love you"he said.

Next, Yoshika threw herself on him and kissed him again.

Back at Witches table…

"This is getting more and more interesting"Natalia stated.

She pressed the play button and showed her phone to everyone. They saw a middle-growth man, wearing Chinese general uniform and with cane in his left hand. On face, he had glasses and was standing on the podium. Next, he started:

"Citizens of China! I'm standing here, in front of you, not as your leader or general. But as one of citizens of this beautiful nation. Our enemies think they can destroy us, but no. Our failure in South America, Japan, British Isles and Coalition offensive on American West Coast was only temporary. I promise, that soon, we push them back. We take back what is ours and what belongs to us, Chinese people. That's why, from today, our enemies will be afraid of our new name. We're no longer People Republic of China. Since now, we'll crush our enemies as People Empire of China!"

Of course, everything was said in Chinese, but there also were lyrics.

When the speech was over, it was countered by cheers and applause.

"So that was Don Nian?"Kanno asked.

"Yes, it was"Helena confirmed.

"I imagined him a bit…different"Eila said.

"What everybody have with all these new countries? United State of Europe, People Empire of China. Maybe we should also create Federation of South America?"Helena said ironically.

"Just have fun of this night. We're gonna worry about this tomorrow"Erica said.

In that minute, Yoshika approached the table. Chris and Lynette moved a little to make place for her.

"Yoshika, are you okay?"Lynette asked.

"Why you asking?"Yoshika replied.

"You have red cheeks".

Erica then started to prepare for her 'falling in love' text, but when she saw Barkhorn's fist lifting up, she stopped.

"No. It happens sometimes"Yoshika explained.

Meanwhile, general Sobczak was sitting at the table with other generals. Then, one of privates approached him and leaned over to his ear. He whispered something and general widened his eyes.

"You should tell it to captain Saltarski"private said.

Sobczak nodded. He stood up and walked up to Krystian.

"General. You need something?"Krystian asked.

"Captain. I think you can be interested in this"Sobczak started"After two years of searching, we found first trace leading us to Lizing".

After hearing this, Strike and Brave Witches turned their head, Storm Witches looked confused and real anger appeared on Saltarski's face.

XXX

 **Finally, chapter 13 is done. I tried to make it onto more laid back, maybe a bit funnier chapter, but I let you to judge it. It's now time to explain something. Song singed by Hisako and Minna is originally performed by Kabaret Skeczów Męczących. Tradition with which song is connected with is cultivated in countries like Poland, Austria and Bulgaria. After New Year, priest visits houses and saints them with holy water. Some people willingly let him in, other not. Sketch in performance of Diana and Adrian, on the the other hand,** **is originally in performance of Kabaret Czesuaf. Song Anton was singnign was 'Storm' by Victor Crone. And** _ **Game of Thrones**_ **parody songs are fully owned by The Warp Zone.**

Sadako: So, what now?

 **Now? You didn't guessed after this information in the end.**

Erica: Now it's time for hunting, right?

 **Exactly. In another chapter of course. But until then, see ya!**

Sadako: Bye!

Erica: Yo!


	16. Chapter 14

**It's time for a special ops, really important to Saltarski. And taking part in China's capital: Beijing.**

Sadako: Maybe only first part.

 **Yeah. But second part also is about it.**

Keiko: Phew. Okay, I'm ready for first mission.

Linchov: And what are we have to do with him after we catch him?

 **Easy, first, let's start the chapter.**

Chapter 14

,,Search for Lizing Pt.1: Birds of Prey"

September 7, 2022

22:11

Edmonton, Canada

Night was dark, with no stars visible on the night sky. Only sources of light in the city were street lamps and lights from windows. Because Canada hasn't been in war with China, it wasn't been affected by it. Economy was still running good, politically country mainly co-worked with it's NATO and Commonwealth allies, but didn't declared war on China.

Yuma and Hotaru were sitting in their armchairs, watching night news and drinking tea.. Their parents went to cinema and the two was almost home alone, if you not include Hotaru's granny.

"Hey, Yu. Everything's okay?"Hotaru asked.

Yuma was then taken out of her thinking and looked at her years-long friend.

"Yeah. It's just…I'm worried about Krystian"Yuma replied.

Hotaru nodded. She remembered that day, when Krystian called Yuma to tell her about what happened with Zuza. His breaking voice and almost crying. When Yuma told their parents about it, sad atmosphere spread to everyone and everyone was crying then.

"You think that only you're worried about your sibling?"Hotaru asked.

"But Hisako calls you regularly. And I…I didn't received anymore calls from Krystian since that day".

"It can't be that bad. If Hisako is alive and calls me, then Krystian surely is too"Hotaru provided.

"How can you be so sure?"Yuma asked suspiciously.

Hotaru looked at the granny, which was looking through the window. Next, she leaned to Yuma and whispered:

"Hisako once told me this: 'I can't leave Krystian. If he dies, I will die with him. We promised to always be side by side and I'm going to keep this promise'".

"She really said that?"Yuma asked in surprise.

"Hey, they're like brother and sister. Always watch each others backs, remember?"

Right then, Hotaru's granny walked past them, laid down on the sofa and covered with quilt.

"Good night, granny"Hotaru said.

"Good night, Mrs. Chizuru"Yuma said at the same time.

"Good night, girls"granny Chizuru replied.

Not soon after, she was snoring.  
"Granny needs more and more rest everyday. I hope everything is okay with her"Hotaru said.

"Don't worry. Your granny came out of worse things"Yuma said.

Next, they continued to watch news. There was information about Coalition victories in South America, as Caracas was retaken by joint Colombian-Brazilian-Venezuelan forces and that Chinese still occupy half of Bolivia and Atacama Desert. In Europe, advance towards German border with France and Iberian Campaign continued, as Madrid was finally free.

"I wonder, what Krystian is doing now"Yuma said.

"Whatever he's doing, it's probably related with war"Hotaru replied.

However, they didn't knew, that he was doing something far more important.

September 7, 2022

22:32

Beijing, China

Sky over Beijing was colorful from all fireworks and on the streets, parades also were taking place.

"What are they even celebrating?"Keiko asked.

After Paris, Storm Witches also joined Military High Schools. Keiko joined infantry, Kitano applied to armored forces, Marseille and Raisa, surprisingly, also joined armored forces, Marseille as tank commander and Raisa as loader, Inagaki joined air force and Matilda landed in South African Defense Force High School armored force.

This was real shocker for Storm Witches. They wanted Matilda to stay with them, but then, Military High School Nationality Law entered. As it was explained by Michael, this law says that people can join only Military High School of their country of origin and because Matilda was actually South African, Michael contacted his friend from their high school, Nkosazana Jacobs, and Matilda was sent to SA two days later. Only if she had citizenship of other country from 4th School Fleet, she then could join one of them.

"Nian's birthday. He changed it into national day"Sadako replied.

"If we only had time to go to Nian's palace and take him down…"Linchov stated.

They were all sitting on the rooftop of Wang Zu Tower 1, one of two twin building built in last four years, watching roof of Wang Zu Tower 2, but still free from offices. More precisely, on additional storey of the building. Squad consisted of six members: Saltarski, Sadako, Keiko, Linchov and two snipers, Lynette and McFalton. Their mission was to capture doctor Victor Ramos, Spanish scientist, which became head of Chinese R&D branch and one of Lizing's closest co-workers.

When Sobczak's informant in Beijing informed him about Ramos, plan was established. Squad was first sent to South Korea, already liberated by Coalition, from where, under cover of soldiers recruited from occupied countries, they moved behind enemy lines. There, they found transport to Beijing, and for four days they played role of good soldiers, until they sneaked out of base and came here. After capturing Ramos, they have to move on Beijing airport, where plane is waiting for them.

Air was then filled with sound of helicopter rotors. When everyone looked up, six WZ-10 helicopters and one UH-60 Black Hawk flew by.

"He arrived at time"Linchov stated"Let's do it".

Everyone covered their faces with balaclavas and watched as Black Hawk lands on rooftop of twin building.

"Let's start. Sadako. Turn on the face scanner"Saltarski ordered.

Witch reached her backpack, from which she took tablet-like devise, with big lens on it's back. She turned it on and pressed zoom button, to see what's happening on second roof.

"This is Six-Two, Sunbuster we're starting transmission"Keiko informed command.

"Copy that, Six-Two"general Kenesky,which was in charge of this operation, replied on the second side"I'm receiving the broadcast. Clearing the signal".

Door of the helicopter opened and it's passengers started to come out of it. Sadako focused the camera on it and started to look for Ramos. However, only thing she was currently seeing were standard security soldiers.

And then, she saw him. A man, around 29 years old, wearing white suit and dark sunglasses. In hand, he had silver suitcase. He came up to the staircase entrance and once more turned his face, what let Sadako to take complete scan of it. After that, he walked down the stairs.

"Target confirmed. It's Ramos"general Kenesky informed"Begin the operation.

"Affirmative, Sunbuster. Six-Two out"Linchov replied.

The four came down the additional storey and came up to for boxes, standing on the rooftop. Meanwhile, McFalton and Lynette were watching the second building.

"We're gonna cover you. Call us if you need sniper support"McFalton said.

"Of course we do"Saltarski provided.

Next, four soldiers unlocked the boxes and their walls and cover fell on the ground, showing the rope launcher.

"Wait a second. Don't you have acrophobia?"Sadako asked Saltarski.

"Yeah. But today, I'm ready to take this risk"Krystian replied.

They quickly prepared rope launchers and aimed them at the building on the second side. Soon, four ropes soared towards the edge of second tower rooftop and caught on. After checking if it was good enough, everyone nodded.

"Hang on"Sadako said.

"Good luck"Lynette said.

Four came up to their ropes and attached zip-lines to them. Suddenly, Keiko shook her head.

"You know what? Maybe I'll stay here"she stated.

"Don't be scared. It's gonna be really fun"Linchov replied.

Next, whole three jumped over the edge of rooftop and were sliding down the rope to their targets. Keiko, unsteadily, followed them. Fortunately, she caught up with them.

"Three, two, one…Disconnection!"Saltarski ordered.

Right then, rope launchers on the second rooftop, disconnected and rope started to fall down, with soldiers still attached to her. Soon, everyone hit the side of the building with their legs and bounced several times to get balance. In place where Sadako hit, a crack stayed on glass.

"Ropes secured, we're going down"Sadako reported.

With her words, they slowly started to move down, with backs turned to the ground.

"Enemy below us"Saltarski reported.

"Light inside will make us invisible for them"Linchov replied.

They moved down more, until they saw one of security soldiers sitting behind a table in conference room and playing game on laptop.

" _Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare_ "Krystian noticed.

"(growls) Doesn't matter. Keiko, take care of him"Linchov ordered to her.

Keiko aimed her Howa Type 89 at the Chinese at table and fired. Bullet left little hole in the glass, but also in enemy's head and spilling blood on the laptop. As he heard what Chinese were capable of, she had easier task.

"Let's hope nobody will find him"Keiko stated.

"Good. Now right. Let's take care of these two"Sadako said, referring to two other security soldiers walking outside, by the corridor.

With this order, soldiers and Witches moved right, stopping on the windows of small hall, in which two soldiers in brown jackets were standing and talking.

Sadako aimed her riffle at one of them and fired. When he fell on the ground, second one, in shock, started to look around, until Linchov offered several bullets from his AK-107 to him.

"Targets down. Clear"Sadako said.

"We're going to the next floor"Krystian said.

"More enemies down"Keiko reported.

As they moved down on the next floor, they could see more enemies in the room filled with boxes and with one table and kitchen in the next room.

"Don't shoot"Linchov ordered.

"Three enemies at the poker table"Sadako noticed.

"On the left. In the kitchen. Another on the way"Saltarski reported.

"Sadako, take care of the kitchen first"Linchov ordered.

In this mission, he and Saltarski been commanding officers, so Witches had to listen to them. Sadako moved left and was standing on kitchen window, aiming her Howa 68-Shiki riffle at enemy inside.

"Wait until second one is inside, then liquidate both at the same time"Saltarski ordered.

Both waited until enemy soldiers will be in the kitchen and when they both stood in front of dresser, Saltarski said to Sadako:

"On your mark".

Witch pulled the trigger and one of enemies fell on the ground. Krystian quickly followed her, clearing the kitchen.

"Something's happening in the middle"Keiko noticed.

Sadako and Krystian moved right, to see the three at poker table and saw one of them standing up and walking towards the kitchen. Everyone held their breaths, but fortunately, another one at the table persuaded him to come back. Soldier hesitated for few seconds, but finally sat back down.

"Phew. That was close"Keiko stated.

Keiko, Sadako and Linchov aimed their riffles a the poker trio and pulled the triggers, ending the poker party.

"Clear"Keiko said.

"Let's keep moving"Krystian said.

Two floors later, they saw a big hall, covered in papers, sever boxes and charwoman equipment.

"Control center should be on this floor"Linchov said.

All four hung their weapons on tape attached to belts and took their burners. Next, they burned circles in the glasses. Then, they bounced from the wall and with kick, they broke through the circles in windows.

"Power system is on the back. Let's go"Linchov said to Sadako, once inside.

"Right behind you"Sadako replied.

"But nobody will see these giant holes in glasses?"Keiko asked.

"Better no"Saltarski replied.

She followed him to the corridor right behind next door. Saltarski and Keiko went in different direction.

Corridor filled with servers and control panels. Linchov pointed at one of them.

"Make a connection and upload the virus"he said.

With came up to one of servers and put it forward. Next, she reached her belt and took little device, around two times smaller than standard phone. She turned it on, showing screen with numerous numbers and one big button on the right. Sadako pressed the button and USB port appeared on the top of device. Next, she put the port into server. She put her finger to the button, keeping it constantly pressed, and started to upload the virus. Red belt at he top of screen started to move forwards.

However, when it was at 87%, they heard footsteps.

"Enemies incoming. End it"Linchov said.

Sadako pressed the button harder, like it would make any effect. Fortunately, red belt made it up to 100% and changed on green.

"Quick, hide in the niche"Linchov said.

He did what he said and hid in nearby niche. Sadako followed him and took the one vis a vis to his.

Then, two Chinese passed the turn and entered the server corridor. One of them noticed server, which Sadako forgot to close.

"Nǐ kàn dàole ma? Zhèxiē huīfù chéngxù shènzhì wúfǎ guānbì fúwùqì (You see? These restorers can not even close the server)"he said.

He came up to server and closed it. He then said something else and walked away, leaving second one alone. The second one looked straight towards Sadako, but didn't managed to check what's wrong, because Linchov approached him from the back. He covered his mouth and stabbed in chest five times.

"Let's get back to ropes"Linchov said, putting enemy body in niche"We hook up again".

The two quickly returned to the previous room and came up to the holes in windows. They grabbed the ropes and again attached to their belts, this time facing the down and looking on the street, while their backs were pointed up.

"Turn off the lights"Linchov ordered.

Sadako once more took the little device and pressed the red button on it. With this move done, all light in the building, from the most upper floor to ground floor turned off, covering the building in darkness.

"(whistle) Beautiful"Linchov commended"Two on the left balcony".

As he said that, two soldiers appeared on nearby balcony and leaned on the railings. Sadako and Linchov aimed their riffles at them and with two precise shots in the heads, they both were laying dead, with one of them flying through the railings and falling towards the ground.

"Clear"Sadako reported.

After walking down another four floors, they met another balcony, on which another soldier was standing.

"One under you. Go over him, we make it quiet"Linchov said.

Sadako reached her belt and took her knife from there. Next, she stood exactly over the head of enemy soldier. Then, she jumped straight on him, right when he started to turn around, sinking the knife in his neck. Right then, another two soldiers entered the balcony. Sadako grabbed her knife by blade and threw into one of them, hitting the one in front in the head. Linchov joined her, falling on the second soldier.

"Remember, we have to turn the elevators off to cut off his escape route"Sadako said.

"Main control room is in the western wing"Linchov said.

"We meet in the hall, to block the back ups"Saltarski said in radio.

Linchov and Sadako came up to stairs and before they walked down them, they saw two soldiers entering the elevator. They didn't decided to let them go, though, and shot them, before they pressed any button.

"Clear"Sadako said.

Next, they approached doors leading to more 'office' part of the building and entered them. They hid behind a long desk and looked in the door behind the desk.

"Five enemies in front of us"Linchov reported"Take them down".

He fast came to the wall of little conference room, while Sadako hid behind another desk. Linchov fired through the window of conference room, killing the three inside, with Sadako killing two on the outside.

"I think that Witch training came in handy"Linchov stated.

"I think so"Sadako replied.

In the next corridor, they didn't met any enemies so Linchov contacted Saltarski:

"Krystian, come in".

"Main elevators down, buck ups are sill operational"Krystian replied.

"Copy, see you in five"Linchov ended.

They turned to the nearby mess hall, where they hid behind some tables. Inside, they saw around 20 enemy soldiers.

"Heck, big group"Sadako stated.

"We need to surprise them"Linchov said, quickly sneaking in the dark to another cover"Destroy the TV".

TV was the only source of light in the mess hall, so Sadako did the order without hesitating and whole room was dark.

"Let's blind them now"Linchov said.

Their riffles had attached strobes, to make it easier for them to fight in the dark and to blind the enemies in front of them. So when they turned the strobes on and pointed them at soldiers in the mess hall, they all started to cover their faces to not get blinded. Of course, the two used it to quickly eliminate them all.

"Clear. Turn off the strobes and this way"Sadako said.

They quickly left the mess hall and sprinted through another mini hall and through secretariat, landing in the hall divided in two parts by a sub-floor. Boxes could be seen in several places and plants in flowerpots.

"Keiko, we're approaching from north-eastern corner"Sadako said through radio.

"Copy that. We're near control room"Keiko replied.

Whole wall of the hall was one giant glass, with opened rectangular part with railings, through which they could see fireworks still flying in the air. But also the rooftop of second building, on which their snipers were waiting on signal. In the second end of the hall, they could see Saltarski and Keiko standing next to another door.

"Go help Krystian and Keiko. I'll take care of ropes"Linchov said.

Sadako nodded and approached the two. Krystian opened door and entered the elevators control room.

"Okay, let's do it"he said and took one of three identical levers"We need to pull the levers at the same time".

Witches stood on both sides of him and also grabbed the levers.

"Three…"Sadako started.

"…two…"Keiko continued.

"…one"Saltarski ended.

Three levers at the same time went down, marking the turning off of the elevators.

In this moment, shots could be heard from the hall.

"We have company"Keiko noticed.

"Let's take care of them"Krystian said.

"Shit, they found us! Get back here!"Linchov said on their channel.

The three quickly returned to Linchov already engaging enemy troops and hiding behind small wall.

"We're loosing time, we need to move!"Saltarski said. He changed his frequency and said"Lynn, McFalton! Give us support here, quick!"

"Understood"McFalton replied.

Another two soldiers which entered through the door scored the bullets from sniper riffles. With this cover fire, four soldiers could take care of other things.

"Give us your back up charges, we will cover our escape route"Saltarski said to Linchov.

Russian reached his backpack, from which he took around six C4 charges and gave to Saltarski. Then, Saltarski gave three of them to Keiko.

"On my mark, you detonate them"Krystian said, setting up the charges.

"Alright. Hook up to the ropes"Linchov said to Sadako.

"We'll be right behind you"Keiko provided.

Witch approached the rope laying on the ground, she wrapped it around railings and hooked it with each other. Next, she attached it to her belt and jumped over the railings, again landing her feet on the wall of building. She and Linchov bounced from the wall three times, going down three more floors. On every floor they passed they could see big groups of soldiers going towards Saltarski and Keiko.

Meanwhile, Saltarski and Keiko stood with ropes attached to their belts and C4 in their hands. He quickly explained his plan to Keiko and now, they waited on enemies, which just entered the hall.

"Can you keep this for us?"Keiko asked.

Next, six C4 charges flew towards Chinese and it was too late for them, when they saw what they are.

"Linchov now!"Saltarski exclaimed to radio, jumping over railings.

Linchov had the detonator ready and immediately after these words he pressed the button, detonating all six C4 charges. Explosion was so powerful, that it even broke through the glass on the floor and the ones over Sadako and Linchov also broke in little pieces.

Saltarski and Keiko would probably fall to the meeting with the ground, if not ropes, which stopped them from that.

"Over us!"Sadako exclaimed.

As she said that, she evaded being hit by photocopying thrown out by enemies. Next, two more appeared on the detonated floor, but were quickly taken care of and Sadako had to dodge falling bodies.

"More enemies on lower floor!"Keiko reported.

All four bounced from the building and they moved down on another floor. There, a big group of enemies noticed them and tried to hit them, but they weren't doing well with that. It was used by the four, which eliminated.

"We need to get inside!"Saltarski stated.

They again bounced and moved down on another floor. But this time, they bowed their knees and righted them right before hitting glass, so they broke through it and again landed inside the building, this time in it's internal park. They quickly disconnected ropes from their belts and hid behind covers to not get hit.

It was dark here, so Sadako used her Super Vision, to see enemies around. Two of them were hiding behind the trees, so she leaned and fired at them, scoring two kills. Linchov took care of another enemy coming down the stairs, while Keiko and Krystian threw grenades at enemies hiding behind the concrete bench surrounding one of the trees.

"We can't let Ramos escape! Faster!"Krystian exclaimed.

With his words, two teams went separate ways, to cut off Ramos's escape routes. Linchov grabbed one of enemies and literally threw him through the window. Next, he and Sadako moved to door vis a vis of conference room.

"In position"Sadako said.

"We too"Keiko replied.

"Alright, let's do this"Linchov stated.

Russian pushed the door open and entered the office. On the wall over the desk was hanging a screen, under screen was the bookshelf, with another door on the second side of room. On one side of the desk was the armchair and several plants were standing in flowerpots. On the ceiling, latern-type chandeliers were hanging.

But Ramos was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it. He's not here"Linchov said"Saltarski?"

"We got him"Saltarski replied.

After that, second door opened and Ramos fell into the room, ran into the desk and rolled over it, throwing computer, documents, his suitcase and other things on the floor, himself landing on the second side of the desk.

Krystian approached him, grabbed by his suit and pushed on his chair. Next, he took his WIST-94 and aimed at Ramos.

"He knew you will come here"Ramos said, with Spanish accent.

"Where is Lizing? Where is he?"Krystian asked, trying to be calm.

Ramos looked in the barrels of three assault riffles and pistol aimed at him.

"I don't know! Nobody knows!"he exclaimed.

"Krystian"Linchov sent liaison look to Saltarski.

Pole hid his gun and grabbed Ramos. Next, he put him on the desk and twisted his arm.

"You have five seconds to give coordinates of Lizing's location"Sadako said and started counting"Five…"

"He's not here!"Ramos continued to say.

"…four, three, two, one…"Sadako continued to count.

"His location is saved there! In encrypted file!"he finally broke, pointing at his suitcase.

Smile appeared on Saltarski's face and he patted the Spanish head.

"Is that was so hard? Good boy"he said.

Keiko came up to suitcase and opened it, revealing a laptop inside.

"Interesting"she said.

But before she could do anything, the screen on the wall behind the desk turned on. It showed around 19 year old boy, wearing standard Chinese infantrymen uniform. He had green eyes and brown hair.

"Well, well, well. You finally found me"he said.

Everyone looked at Saltarski, which now had real fire in his eyes.

"Lizing"the Pole said.  
"It's been two years. I'm impressed that you even came to me"Lizing stated.

"You killed my sister, you son of a bitch!"Krystian exclaimed.

Lizing just shook his head.  
"You gave me no other option. I wanted to make it peacefully"he simply said.

"She was just four!"Krystian exclaimed and punched the screen, leaving crack on it.

"Saltarski!"Linchov exclaimed, trying to calm him down.

Saltarski looked at him and backed off. Linchov came up to the screen.

"Where are you, Lizing?"Linchov asked.

"It doesn't matter where I'm. It matters, it's been two years since that day and you still want revenge on me"Lizing replied, avoiding Linchov's question"But today, your chase after me will meet it's end. I can make this happen".

Last thing they saw, was Lizing turning around to someone behind the screen and moving his hand next to his neck.

"So that was Lizing"Sadako said.

"Yeah. And I think something's gonna happen"Keiko stated, grabbing Ramos's laptop and putting it to her backpack.

Next thing that happened, was sound of explosion coming from afar.

"It's a set up! Let's get out of here!"Linchov said.

More explosions took place and whole building shaken, almost overturning them all. They left Ramos's office and Ramos himself behind. Saltarski crashed into staircase door, opening them and they all quickly started to walk down the stairs.

"Command, mission failed! We're trying to evacuate from 52nd floor!"Linchov exclaimed to his radio.

"Copy that, Six-Two! We order our pilots to heat up the engines at the airport!"general Kenesky replied.

Floor started to literally fall apart under their legs, leaving only parts of concrete hanging on metal strengthens. They turned into falling corridor and found some enemies, also trying to evacuate.

"We need to find windows!"Keiko said.

"There!"Sadako said, pointing at the room below.

Linchov quickly opened the door leading to the room and they immediately run down them.

"Prepare parachutes!"he ordered and turned his radio"Bishop, McFalton! Parachutes!"

Another explosion took place and whole building started to tilt, not allowing to run anymore. Everyone started to slide down towards the windows. Sadako stopped on some parts of ceiling, which fell off of it. But it wasn't lasted long, as the parts also started to slide down, until they were about to meet the glass. They quickly covered their faces and broke through the windows.

"Parachutes!"Krystian shouted.

Everyone pulled their ropes and opened parachutes. Over their heads, Wang Zu Tower 2 was collapsing and hit Wang Zu Tower 1, creating a bridge connecting two buildings.

Soon, the four was joined by Lynette and McFalton, also on their parachutes.

"I think we'll be having things to tell when we come back"McFalton stated.

"Hell yeah"Keiko replied.  
"Sunbuster, we're airborne. We're going towards extraction"Linchov reported.

He heard sigh of general Kenesky and next his voice:

"You did well out there. And now, get hell out of here".

Complete panic erupted on the streets, when both Wang Zu Towers collided with each other. Because of that, nobody noticed six paratroopers landing in simple alley. And nobody turned their attention at six tourists entering the minivan and going to the airport.

September 10, 2022

12:32

USS _James Madison_ , Coast of France

Helicopter touched the ground, as it reached the carrier. It's door opened and six people that took part in operation were back on friendly ground.

"God, finally we're back"McFalton said.

"Yeah. We now can rest"Sadako said.

"First I think I have to give this to command"Keiko stated, taking the laptop.

But before she went in different way, general Kenesky approached them.

"Good to see you alive"he stated.

"Thanks, general"Linchov said"I hope that files at this laptop would be helpful".

"They surely will"Keiko said, giving laptop to general.

"Good. You now can go to hang around the base. I will call you when everything will be done"general provided and walked away.

With these words, the two quickly went to ship's playroom. There, they found other Witches, adjutants, Hisako, Adrian and Chris playing billiards, sitting in armchairs or just simply talking. When the six entered, everyone looked at them.

"Hey, you came back!"Erica said.

"But trust us, we almost didn't made it back alive"Linchov said.

"Shame that we won't see what you were doing there"Maleroshka stated.

All six looked at each other.

"Easy. We have recordings"McFalton said, reaching his bag and taking his helmet camera from there.

All people smiled about this.

"Hey, Lynn"Chris asked, standing next to her"Everything okay?"

"Of course. I was sitting on the second building all the time"Lynette replied.

"Okay, people, let's now watch all these videos from our cameras"Keiko said.

"First, let me to put this together. I should be done by tomorrow"McFalton said.

He then left the playroom and walked away.

"Hey, Hiko. Are you okay?"Krystian asked, standing next to her.

In response, Hisako wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. He, of course, returned the hug.

"It's good that you're okay"Hisako said.

"This came to your head just now?"Adrian asked.

"No. I was thinking about it all the time"she explained.

"Okay, better don't think about it. Let's have fun by this time"Ellen said.

"Exactly. You surely are tired after all of this"Crystal stated.

"So. What can you propose to us?"Keiko asked.

"Want to play billiards?"Eevi asked.

Saltarski, Linchov, Sadako, Lynette and Keiko nodded.

Two days later…

11:21

Briefing Room

Two days later, after seeing the recordings of their action in Beijing and hanging around the carrier, everyone was called to the briefing. General Kenesky was already there, as they entered and sat on chairs.

"Can we start the briefing?"Rosman asked.

"Of course"general replied.

Map of Yucatan Peninsula appeared on the screen.

"Ramos's laptop was heavily damaged, but our specialists from NORAD found something important"Kenesky said.

"Lizing?"Krystian asked immediately.

General nodded.

"They're moving him every twenty four hours. However, we know where he would be during next twenty four".

"Where?"Shirley asked.

"And here things get interesting. All data indicates, that Lizing will be in Gulf of Mexico. On the floating industrial complex called 'The Freeport' in Campeche oil fields, near Chinese occupied Yucatan Peninsula coast"Kenesky replied.

Everyone fell silent. Lizing will be right here, under their noses. World surely was on their side.

Keiko raised her hand.

"Wait. I heard that Yucatan Peninsula is part of this whole 'Mexico' and it's not at war. Then how it became occupied by Chinese?"she asked.

"It's complicated"Kenesky said"Two years ago, Chinese wanted to take this peninsula from reasons only known to them. They threatened Mexican government that they change the country into nuclear desert, if they'll not say 'yes'. They had no choice".

Witch nodded in understanding.

"So finally I can put my hands on him"Saltarski said, hitting opened hand with fist.

"Not so fast. Command wants him to be alive and moved to Falkland Islands, where he would be judged for his crimes"Kenesky explained.

Krystian wanted to protest, but Hisako put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Plan is like before. First, helicopters will clear enemy defenses. This task belongs to Koronija and Saber squadrons"general pointed at Maleroshka, Rosman and Krupinski"Then, ground team comes in and takes Lizing. I'll be using Spectre, to command the doings of multiple units. As our base of operations, we chosen Guantanamo Bay"general fell silent for a minute"It's gonna be nice hunting".

Everyone started to leave, but general stopped them:

"Hold on. I have one more info".

They stopped but didn't came back on their chairs.

"Yesterday, I was contacted by general de Ortez from Mexican Armed Forces High School. He told me that Mexican MHS was only institution opposed to giving Yucatan to China. This is why from last two years, they were preparing the retaking of peninsula. Operation starts today"Kenesky informed.

"Wow. Unexpected turn of events"Shirley stated.

"I know, right? But now, it's everything. You can go"general ended.

This time, they really left the room.

September 13, 2022

14:22

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

After the briefing, squad to this mission was chosen, consisting of again Linchov and Saltarski and of Hisako, Shirley and Anton. Next, the squad was loaded on plane and sent to US, from where they were transported to Guantanamo, from which they had to start the mission. Choppers had to arrive by next four C-5 Galaxy, every transporting two choppers.

"Ah, welcome to Guantanamo Bay. American threshold on Cuban soil"Saltarski said.

"At least, we have the place close to Yucatan, from where we can easily operate"Shirley said.

Right then, base commander approached them.

"So you have to be the ones attacking The Freeport, right?"he asked.

"Actually, we still have helicopters to come. You need to prepare to accept four more C-5s"Hisako said.

Commander nodded.

"Of course. I hope that base will be enough comfortable. Now, please, come with me to command center"he said.

Squad followed him to command center. When they entered, they came up to the table, on which the map of The Freeport was laying.

"As you see"commander said, standing next to the table"The Freeport is one giant floating fortress. They have AA guns, missile launchers and helicopter defenses. I guess, that these helicopters that also have to arrive, have to destroy them?"

"Exactly. We already set the plan up, so you don't have to tell them anything"Anton explained.

"Good then. But tell them, that the best place to start the attack, is to approach from the canyon in South of area"He showed the coast South to The Freeport.

"Okay. Operation starts at 1943 hours. Let's wait on these helicopters"Anton said.

Everyone nodded and again went to the airfield, where first C-5 with helicopters was already landing.

19:43

Canyon in The Freeport area

The sound of helicopter rotors was deflecting from walls of small canyon around, as one Black Hawk, four Mi-24s and four Eurocopter Tigers were flying to their target. After the arrival to Guantanamo Bay, helicopters were mounted back in one piece and were prepared for mission.

"Saber 1, this is Koronija 1. Distance two minutes"Maleroshka informed.

"Copy that, Koronija 1"Saber Squadron commander said. Next, he turned to the rest of his squadron"Remember, people, this is capturing operation. We have to cover ground team, until they reach the ground".

Group reached the road fork and helicopters flew two separate ways.

"Affirmative, Saber 1. TADS heading Zero-Seven-Seven"Maleroshka said"Check, if we need attack permission".

"Checking"Saber 1 informed.

"Ten seconds. W need to have opportunity to shoot at these guys"Krupinski said.

"Wait, Saber 5. Good. We can start the attack"Saber 1 stated.

"What do you think? Use 30mm or missiles?"Krupinski asked.

"Everything you can"Saber 1 replied.

Smile formed on Krupinski's face.

"Roger"she said.

"I'm going to use the thirty"Saber 1 ended.

"Everything is ready?"Krupinski asked Rosman.

"Green"Rosman answered.

They followed river to the end of the canyon, until they saw the giant complex in front of them and stopped.

"Oh, shit. So many targets"Saber 3 said.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman. Let's do this"Saber 1 ordered.

Right then, Chinese defenses opened fire and bullets started to pass by the helicopters, not hitting them.

"Enemy machine gun fire"Saber 1 said.

Saber 4 turned around and fired at tank firing it's AA machine gun. 30mm bullets easily eliminated the tank. Krupinski and Rosman turned their attention to highway leading to the complex and fired HOT 3 missile at enemy anti-aircraft gun. Koronija 4 fired it's gun at column of armored cars on second highway, changing them into column of burning wrecks.

"Saber 5, you have enemies in the building with chimneys"Saber 3 noticed.

"Copy that, Saber 5"Krupinski replied.

Eurocopter turned in direction of said building and fired it's 30mm gun at the windows, killing all enemies with shoulder fired SAMs there.

"Building clear"Rosman reported.

"Good. Now focus on enemies on highways"Saber 1 ordered.

All helicopters returned to highways and fired their missiles at armored vehicles there. Several tanks and APCs disappeared from highways in seconds. Krupinski and Rosman got missile lock, but managed to hid behind chimney and missile hit it. Next, they found the SAM missile launcher and destroyed it with gun.

"Enemy helicopters on the platform next to exhaust chimneys"Koronja 2 reported.

"I see them"Maleroshka said.

Maleroshka turned in direction of several Mi-35s that appeared in the area and fired missiles at them. Four of helicopters were hit and crashed into the ground. Koronija 4 and 2 fired their guns at other helicopters and also brought them down quickly.

"I'm out of 30mm ammo. Changing to missiles"Saber 1 reported.

"Copy that, Saber 1"Maleroshka said.

"Enemy still fire at us from exhaust chimneys position"Saber 3 said"They use AA guns. Saber 5, can you take care of them?"

"Of course"Rosman replied.

They turned attention at pair of Polish Hibernyt AA guns and shredded them into pieces with their 30mm gun.

"AA guns destroyed"Krupinski reported.

"Good. Now, let's move forward"Maleroshka ordered.

Helicopters moved forward along the highways, on the way destroying enemy vehicles and helicopters trying to take off. Two gunboats opened fire at them, but Mi-24s turned around and fired their guns at them, leaving only two burning sinking wrecks.

"More enemies in the residential area. Preparing for approach"Maleroshka said.

"Wait for us, Koronija 1"Saber 1 said.

Both squadrons moved into the residential area and saw Chinese soldiers setting up trucks with AA guns on the back. But before they ended, wave of missiles and gunfire reached them and disappeared in fire and parts of equipment.

"Ha! They could try to fortify it better"Koronija 3 said.

He got missile alert and almost got hit.

"Siarhei, better watch what are you doing next time"Maleroshka said to him.

"Copy that, Sir"Koronija 3 replied.

Saber 3 got missile warning and quickly flew behind the block of flats, which protected her from missile.

"Saber 5, you have enemy on your tale"Koronija 4 said.

"Enemy helicopters approaching from the North"Koronija 2 reported.

"And from the West"Saber 4 said.

Krupinski and Rosman tried to lose enemy helicopter, but it was following them all the time. They quickly made a turn around one bigger chimneys. Enemy lost them, so they used his confusion and appeared on his side, firing their gun at him, taking him down.

"Great. Now, come here and help us!"Saber 1 ordered.

Two Witches made turn and flew in the direction, where others were engaging enemy WZ-10s. Eurocopter locked on enemies and fired it's missiles. They hit five helicopters, while Koronija Squadron and other Saber members destroyed another ten.

"Three more choppers coming from the East"Saber 3 reported.

As he said that, Krupinski and Rosman got missile warning and quickly countered them with flares. When they turned around, they saw three Apache helicopters flying towards them. But they already fired missiles and enemy helicopters were destroyed.

"Sky is clear"Maleroshka said, destroying last enemy WZ-10.

"Ground team, you can move into position"Saber 1 stated.

But then, he noticed enemy tanks driving into residential area.

"Look out, enemy is moving units under us"Saber 1 reported.

"I see them"Maleroshka replied.

Mi-24s turned around and faced APC and tanks stopping in the area. Missiles and guns were used and vehicles were quickly taken care of.

"This is ground team. Attack the northern side of the building"Saltarski ordered.

"We attack many moving targets near it. Some of them are still alive"Saber 4 reported.

"Okay, roger that. Coming around"Black Hawk pilot answered.

Saber Squadron flew around the said building and saw platform, which was filled with enemy soldiers. Choppers aimed their guns at the platform and fired, immediately shredding all enemies on it. Then, two self-propelled AA guns appeared on the platform.

"MIM 72s"Koronija 2 said.

"Flares!"Saber 1 exclaimed.

MIMs aimed at helicopters and fired their missiles, with shoppers countering them with flares. Next, Krupinski and Rosman locked on them and AA was silenced.

"Thanks for clearing landing zone, Saber 5"Black Hawk pilot said.

"No problem"Krupinski replied.

"You know? I really start to enjoy flying this, honestly"Rosman said to Krupinski.

"Welcome to the club"Witch pilot answered.

Meanwhile, ground team Black Hawk already flew down and landed.

19:49

Platform

Ground team quickly exited the Black Hawk and looked around, to see if there's any more enemies.

"Team on the ground. I'm repeat, team on the ground"Black Hawk reported, lifting up.

"Copy that, we're continuing to search for targets"Maleroshka said.

Squad turned towards destroyed MIM 72, behind which Chinese soldier was standing and killed him. Next, they moved forward to garage, where another MIM 72 and one GAZ Tigr were standing. They moved up small stair and went through corridor, to enter another garage, where WZ-551 APC was parked.

"On the left!"Shirley said.

As she said it, enemy fire came from the left and soldiers quickly hid behind walls. Anton leaned from behind the corner and fired at enemy hiding behind forklift. Linchov grabbed grenade and threw at enemies hiding behind several boxes. Then they moved behind two containers standing on the small plaza.

"Where exactly is Lizing?"Hisako asked, leaning and firing at enemy on stairs.

"On the top of the building. We need to get him fast!"Saltarski replied.

Team moved on the stairs and entered a hall, where they knelt behind the broken window and fired at enemies on the second plaza. Next, squad ran towards another container and stood behind it. Enemies appeared on the plaza and everyone leaned to put on fire on them. Concrete covers couldn't save them, because bullets easily pierced through them.  
Next, team moved to small room with ramp for forklifts. There, another group of enemies was quickly cleared and they moved forward. Another plaza on their way was bigger and everywhere were standing boxes, barrels and two GAZ Tigrs, with ridden road in the middle.

"We can't let Lizing escape!"Saltarski exclaimed.

He approached enemy from behind and stabbed in back of his head with knife. Team followed him and opened fire and enemies hiding behind barrels and boxes. It was easy task and soon, all of them were laying dead on the ground.

They moved up the stairs, where they eliminated another soldiers and entered the magazine-style hall. More enemies hid behind walls and corridor turns.

Shirley and Hisako entered the neighboring room and took care of enemies there, at the same time flanking Chinese behind the corridor turns. Linchov, Krystian and Anton fired at enemies, which stood in the second end of corridor, easily killing them. They stood next to corridor turn and leaned, with Hisako and Shirley eliminating them all.

Next they entered elevator leading on the top of the building.

"Danger outside your building"Saber 1 reported"Engaging. Danger close. Repeat, danger close".

"Copy that, Saber 1. Clear them for us, will ya?"Anton asked.

"Of course"Maleroshka answered.

Back outside

Choppers continued to circle around the area, noticing three stationary anti-aircraft guns standing on the ground team's way to Lizing.

"Sabers, let's take care of this"Saber 1 ordered.

Four Eurocopter Tigers turned around to face the AA guns and opened fire from their own guns and missiles, eliminating them in quick and smooth raid. They also managed to clear several enemy forces setting up defensive positions on the roof.

"Accurate fire"Maleroshka said.

"Danger cleared, you can move"Krupinski said.

Back with ground team

"Copy that, Krupinski"Anton said.

Elevator already reached the roof. Everyone reloaded their weapons and left the elevator, entering roof and facing more enemies.

"More enemy soldiers exiting the building in front of you"Koronija 2 said.

"Roger. Attacking"Saber 1 said.

Squad ran up the stairs and saw helicopters engaging more enemy choppers which just entered the area. However, they had more important task and eliminated enemies going up the stairs from niche in roof in front of them.

Shirley fired at enemy hiding behind entrance on staircase and killed him. Saltarski killed another one, hiding behind vent exhaust. Two more enemies exited from additional storey, but Anton immediately took care of them.

Squad then entered additional storey, at the same time looking around, if anymore enemies are hiding behind the turns.

"He's behind these door!"Saltarski said.

Hisako and Krystian stood on one side of door, while Linchov, Anton and Shirley on second side. Anton nodded to Saltarski. Pole ran up to the door and opened them with kick, showing command center.

With Lizing, standing next to tactical table.

"On the ground, now!"Saltarski exclaimed.

"(whistle) I see that you can make stylish entrance"Lizing stated.

"Shut the fuck up!"Anton ordered.

He came up to Lizing and hit him with riffle's flask in face. Lizing staggered on the floor. Krystian approached him, grabbed his arm, lead through the room and, putting all his strength, threw him out through the window in the room.

"Command, this is captain Shrauf, package secured, I'm repeat, package secured"Anton reported to command"In other words, we got him".

Krystian jumped through the window and came up to Lizing, laying on the ground.

"Copy that. Black Hawk will take you to back to Guantanamo. You have to be mobile in 30 minutes"general Kenesky replied.

Others exited the additional storey too and stood around Lizing, waiting for chopper to take them back.

XXX

 **First part of 'Search for Lizing' Arc is ready, second part is currently in development. Everything I can say about part two, is that it's gonna be more 'green'.**

Keiko: And what do you mean by this?

 **I mean, that scenery is gonna be green.**

Linchov: So let me guess. Jungle?

 **What? Jungle? Of course not, it's gonna be…Yeah, jungle.**

Shirley: Okay, I always wanted to see jungle.

 **(whispers) Not in such way.**

Shirley: What?

 **Nothing, nothing. And when it comes to Sadako's ability, as it don't have official name, I just called it Super Vision. As it's explained, I can say see ya in the next chapter!**

Keiko: See ya!

Linchov: Yo!

Shirley: Bye!


	17. Chapter 15

Saltarski: Finally, I got him!

 **You now can take your revenge, can you?**

Saltarski: Of course. I waited for this two years!

Hisako and Yoshika: (looks at Saltarski with scared gaze)

Saltarski: Something's wrong?

 **You know. You're scaring them a little.**

Saltarski: Oh, sorry.

Hisako: No, it's nothing. Just don't let the lust of revenge to blind you.

Yoshika: I saw it few times. It's nothing nice.

Saltarski: Easy. I'm not gonna turn into some psychopath.

 **I hope so. Let's start the chapter then.**

Chapter 15

,,Search for Lizing Pt.2: The Hunted"

September 14, 2022

15:11

Sky over Yucatan Peninsula

Hold of the C-17 was filled with sound of hits and groans of pain. By last eleven minutes, Saltarski was beating Lizing, already leaving bruises and cuts on his face.

"Saltarski, enough!"Anton ordered.

Pole, although reluctantly, stopped beating Lizing and stood next to chair, which he was tied up to. Anton came up to Lizing and leaned over him.

"Why you don't want to talk?"he asked.

"Simply. In school, they teach us how to withstand pain"Lizing answered.

"We see how you withstand pain, when they let me take care of you in Falklands"Saltarski said.

Anton just sent reproving look to him. Krystian just threw up his arms.

"Although"Anton again turned to Lizing"I know one thing. There are no immortal people, and everyone can be broken".

"Everyone can be broken, true"Lizing said, nodding his head"You know, we could ask US former president's daughter. How she was called? Malia?"

This, on the other hand, made Shirley furious.

"You had something to do with her death?!"she exclaimed.

"Not personally. One of my subordinates was responsible"Lizing replied like it was nothing special.

Shirley was about to hit Lizing, but was stopped by Hisako.

"No. He's gonna land in front of court. They will judge him"she said.

Witch only sighed and looked at Lizing.

"Okay, enough!"Krystian exclaimed.

He pushed Linchov away and came up to the hold opening button.

"Linchov, Shirley! Grab his chair!"he ordered.

Don't knowing what he was planning, the two grabbed chair.

"Now, give here this son of a bitch"Krystian said.

As Linchov and Shirley were pushing Lizing's chair, Saltarski pressed the button and hold started to open, showing clouds below them.

"Wait, what are you planning?"Anton asked.

Wind's momentum was so high, that several things already started to fell out of the plane. Linchov and Shirley continued pushing the chair.

"In this way, I can be sure, that you don't make any trouble any more!"Krystian said, shouting through wind.

"So? You're gonna throw me out of plane, right?"Lizing asked, knowing the evidence.

"Yes, and what you gonna do about it?"Saltarski asked, standing over him.

"Krystian…"Hisako tried to say, but was not able to.

"You already killed too many people! And you kill no more!"Krystian continued, don't paying attention on her.

Chair was already on line, where opened loading ramp was meeting with rest of the hold.

"You really think you can brake me?"Lizing asked, don't showing fear. However, Shirley was seeing real fear in his eyes"Bring it on! Come on! Here I'm!"

"Shirley! Bring him here!"Saltarski ordered.

He grabbed Lizing by collar and put him on the floor, with his head pointed down the ramp and kneeling over him. If he would let him go, Lizing would just fly out of the plane.

"It's over, Lizing!"Saltarski stated"I beaten you!"

However, Lizing just shook his head.

"You haven't beaten me…"he stated"You actually made my job a hell more easier".

Krystian sent asking look to him, but answer was delivered to him just seconds later.

From clouds emerged Chinese Y-8 medium transport plane, escorted by four captured F-22s. Saltarski immediately recoiled away from Lizing.

"Step back! Step back! STEP BACK!"he ordered.

Shirley and Linchov tried to do what he was saying, but Y-8 launched ropes, which grabbed the C-17. Next, Chinese plane started to slow down, what in combination with accelerating C-17 ended with ripping the plane in two, with it's load part now hanging on ropes under the Y-8.

When this happened, Shirley and Linchov started to fall, but managed to grab an barrier in middle of load, which was used to block cars. However, Linchov didn't managed to grab it strong enough and fell out of the wreck.

"No!"Shirley exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Lizing was now hanging on his chair, which ropes caught on the gap between loading ramp and load. Tail fell off of the wreck and four Chinese troops on ropes lowered to the plane from Y-8.

Lizing let his chair go and landed right over Shirley, on barrier she was grabbing. He knelt.

"If you get out of this, guys, try to find me again!"Lizing said"As my boss says: The more the better!"

One of soldiers lowered more and stood next to Lizing. He wrapped his arm around soldier's neck and, together with remaining three, started to be pulled back inside Y-8.

Shirley tried to tighten her prosthesis hand as much as she could, but barrier just started to fall off. She had no other option than to let go and start to fall.

When she was falling, she was passing by parts which fell off of plane. She was almost hit by two Snatch Land Rovers, which C-17 was carrying. She quickly pulled the parachute rope. Witch sighed, happy that she may survive this.

And then, part of plane stepped in her way and she hit it, which caused her lose the way she was falling.

Not soon after, Shirley saw trees on her way, so she quickly covered her face, as she started to fall through them. However, thanks to parachute, before she hit the ground, Witch just hung on the tree branch.

" _If Barkhorn would see me now, she probably would have something to laugh about_ "Shirley thought.

Shirley reached her knife and started to cut the parachute harness. When she did this, she fell on the ground into a small gorge under her. All around her were bushes of the jungle.

She reached her radio.

"Everyone, come in"she said.

"Saltarski here"Saltarski said in radio"I'm okay. What about others?"

"This is Anton. I'm with Linchov"Anton replied.

"Good. Shirley, is Hisako somewhere there with you?"Krystian asked the Witch.

If only she could, she would look at him with surprise.

"What? She's not with you?"Shirley asked.

"No. She fell somewhere else. Can you find her, please?"he asked.

"Sure. I will contact you if I find her"Witch provided.

"Thank you. But now, radio silence. Enemies still can be around. Say something only, when you have something interesting to report"Pole ordered"Try to find the crash site. I'm on the nearby hill".

Everyone quickly agreed and disconnected. Shirley stayed alone in the jungle.

Witch ducked under the bough and looked at her equipment. Pistol with silencer, knife and movement detector on her left wrist.

Detector was the newest part of Shirley's equipment. Everyone were telling her that she don't need this, because she had her HUD on helmet. But well. Her helmet was laying on one of seats in C-17 and was now probably laying somewhere else, broken.

Suddenly, she heard bushes moving. She looked at her movement detector, seeing five two red dots. She took her knife, bowed the left hand and put her right hand with pistol on left wrist. Then, whole ground started to shake and stopped after five seconds.

"What was that?"Linchov asked.

"I think tremor…"Anton replied unsteadily.

"Whatever it was, we need to get out of here. We find out later"Saltarski stated.

Witch only nodded her head.

" _Yeah, easy to say. I'm sure they have no troubles at all_ "she though, still looking at movement detector. Two red dots were still there.

In that moment, Shirley reached trodden road. And on it's end, she saw two patrolling soldiers.

She quickly ran behind their backs and hid in bushes, watching the two moving. Fortunately, they haven't heard or noticed her.

" _One point for me_ "Shirley stated in mind" _Better take care of them_ ".

Quietly and slowly, Witch made her way towards two soldiers. They were too occupied by talking, so they didn't heard her approaching them. They orientated only when Shirley stabbed one of them in the neck from behind and fired one bullet straight in second enemy's face.

Both bodies simply fell on the ground.

"Hopefully nobody find them. But maybe better…"Shirley thought.

Next, she lifted one of bodies and put in the bushes. She did the same with second. Witch came up to one of bodies and gathered it's QBZ-95 riffle and as many magazines as she could.

"Well. It has to be enough"she stated.

Right then, she heard two gunshots from afar. She took her radio and tried to contact others, but noticed red diode, symbolizing the end of battery.

"Hell, why now?"She asked"Eh, let's find out what was that".

Witch turned and ran in the direction of gunshots.

Meanwhile…

Hisako was running. She just fired two last bullets and only thing she still had was running. In her backpack, she had only medical equipment, backpack itself now hanging on her right arm, in case if he would reach her.

Girl could hear the sound of jaguar chasing her. She several times almost overturned on some roots or rocks, but animal had no problems with this, as it was adapted to such terrain.

"Faster, faster!"Hisako was saying to herself.

But she couldn't run faster. And she knew, she can't escape. Jaguar was way to fast to get lost.

Jaguar appeared right behind her. It was twice as big as normal and surely faster than normal jaguar. It reached his claw towards her, but right in that moment, she stumbled on the root and overturned on a tree. Fortunately, her backpack and whole medical equipment were untouched.

She turned around, because she landed under the tree with face forward. And immediately saw jaguar slowly moving towards her. His slow moves were even more frightening that when it was chasing her. Coming more and more closer, jaguar was opening it's mouth more and more.

Hisako was just sitting there, watching. She couldn't make a single move, because she was just paralyzed by fear. So it was this? This is how her life will end? She had so many dreams, so many thing she always wanted do.

Things she regret that she never told or revealed. Krystian would never know that…

She heard shots. Next, she saw blood gushing from second side of it's head. Animal simply fell on the ground. Dead.

After she killed the jaguar, Shirley jumped down to the valley in which Hisako and jaguar were. She quickly came up and knelt next to Hiskao, still looking in one point in front of her.

"Hey, Hiskao. Say something. Look at me"Shirley said, shaking still shocked Hisako.

Hisako slowly lifted her head up and looked in Shirley's eyes.

"Shirley…"Hisako slowly whispered.

Suddenly, she jumped on her and hugged her, with her face landing between Shirley's breasts. Then, Witch felt Hisako's tears soaking into her uniform and heard girl's sob.

"Easy, easy. It's okay now. You're safe"Shirley said, at the same time thinking" _If Lucchini would see this, she would be mad_ ".

But all this moment was interrupted. Hisako took her face from between Witch's breasts and they both looked in opposite direction.

Another jaguar, even bigger than the one which was chasing Hisako, was slowly walking towards them. The two held their breaths, waiting on this what was about to happen.

Jaguar approached them and stood over. He opened his mouth and released stunning roar, forcing Hisako and Shirley to cover their ears.

However, jaguar was not interested in them. He approached the body of second jaguar and grabbed it by neck. Next, he simply dragged the body in place where he appeared and left the valley, leaving the two alone.

"Thank you"Hisako said, looking at Shirley.

"No problem. I heard your gunshots and came here"Shirley replied.

Hisako then noticed Chinese riffle carried by Shirley.

"Where did you found this?"she asked.

"On my way, I met two Chinese patrolling the area. I took care of them, grabbed his weapon, ammo and then I went here"Shirley explained"Besides, I promised Christian that I will find you".

Polish-Japanese girl then reminded.

"What about boys?!"Hisako exclaimed.

"They're okay. Christian is somewhere on hill next to our plane's crash site, while Anton is with Linchov"Shirley explained.

"Good that they're okay"Hisako sighed"Can you contact them?"

Shirley scratched back of her head.

"Yeah, right. There the problem"she said"My battery ran out. I wanted to ask you for contacting them".

In response, Hisako scratched back of er head, too.

"About that. I lost may walkie-talkie during my escape from that jaguar you killed"she explained.

Shirley snorted in sign of defeat.

"My battery ran out. So it means we're out of any contact"Witch stated.

"Oh. So what are we going to do now?"Hisako asked.

"I think we need to find anything to contact help. Let's go"Shirley said.

Hisako followed Shirley, which led her to the place where she left the two Chinese. She gave ammo and riffle to Hisako and the two started to make their way towards the crash site.

Sometime later…

Shirley and Hisako were walking through the bushes, with Witch cutting through the plants with her knife. But it wasn't been going so well.

"Wish I could have such machete, like that guy that cut off my hand"she said.

"It would be a lot easier"Hisako admitted.

Suddenly, Hisako almost screamed from pain. Her back was just burning, so she quickly took her backpack off. When she looked at it, she saw that part which touches back is soaked with blood. She looked at Shirley.

"Can you tell me if it's look bad?"Hisako asked.

Witch nodded. Hisako turned around and Shirley saw what was there.

Three red traces after jaguar's claws. They pierced through the vest and uniform, leaving these traces.

"And?"Hisako asked.

"You didn't said that this jaguar wounded you"Shirley replied.

"What?"girl asked with surprise in voice"But it didn't…Ah, probably I was in too big shock to feel it"Hisako again turned around"Can you help me in bearing this?"

Shirley nodded.

"Good. First, we need to find a good place. I don't want infection to got into them".

It didn't took long to find good place. Soon after, they found an medium sized glade, which also looked like good place for camp.

"Okay, it's gonna be good"Hisako stated.

She came up to bunch of trees and sat there in Japanese style, putting her backpack on the ground. Shirley came up to her and sat down next to. Hisako started to unpack her medical equipment from backpack, together with rag on which she was placing everything, from bandages to plasters.

"Okay, just do exactly what I'm telling you"Hisako said.

"Sure"Shirley provided.

Hisako took hydrogen peroxide and gauze and gave to Shirley.

"First, we need to decontaminate the wounds. Soak this gauze"girl explained.

Shirley did what girl said, while Hisako took off her vest, uniform and bra, which was already useless, because jaguar cut it's clasp.

"Okay, you can start"Hisako said.

Witch came closer and touched first wound with soaked gauze. Immediately, Hisako hissed from biting pain, but tightened her teeth, to not scream.

"Everything okay?"Shirley asked.

"Yeah. It's only stings a little"Hisako replied.

Shirley quickly cleaned Hisako's wounds, with accompanying hisses from girl's mouth.

"I think it's done"Shirley said.

"I think the same too"Hisako agreed"Can you now parcel them?"

"Yeah".

Hisako gave bandage to Shirley, which started to wrap the bandage around Hisako's body, from her chest to waist.

"Hey, Shirley"Hisako said"You ever had anything you regret? Really, really regret".

Although a bit confused by this question, Shirley didn't stopped wrapping the bandage around Hisako.

Witch shook her head.

"Actually, no. And why are you asking?"Shirley replied.

"Well…"Hisako hung her head.

Hisako didn't knew, why she asked this question. Maybe it's because just few minutes ago she almost looked in Death's eyes? Or maybe because she just can't hide it anymore? Or maybe both of these things?

"You see"girl started"It's been back on the first year. At this time I was more…sensitive. But well, I was Medic and I couldn't show, that I don't like looking at blood. But this has no connection. Anyway, there was such situation, around a week after the school started".

"What happened?"Shirley asked.

"It was like this…"

September 8, 2019

12:32

ORP _Cracow_ , Deck 4

Lessons just ended and Hisako was slowly walking for break, to meet with Krystian, which as student of Class 1D, had history, while Hisako, as student of Class 1F, had Polish.

" _I just hope that we meet before the next lessons will start_ "she thought.

Suddenly, two boys came out of side corridor and stood in front of her, on her way. It was sure that they were from older classes, maybe Second of Third Year.

"Hey, sweetie"one of them, taller, said.

"Um, hi. What do you need?"Hisako replied.

"You see…"second said.

Then, he pushed Hisako at the wall, making her let her backpack go. Then, interest was changed into fear.

"We want to play with you a little. What will you say about it?"first one asked.

Hisako then felt his hand touching her leg and moving up. She then understood what they were talking about.

"But…you can't…"she tried to resist.

"Come on, nobody's gonna know. Ten minutes, no less, no more"second said.

Girl didn't knew what to do. She was just 15 year old First Year, wearing thighs and facing two older boys, which surely could easily handle her, if she tried to beat them. And as a First Year, she wasn't been allowed to carry weapons.

"Marek, Igor!"new voice said.

All three looked in this direction, seeing tall boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. Marek and Igor faces changed into irritated expressions.

"Oh no, Zapała. This girl is ours. Find different one"Marek, the taller one, said.

"Exactly. If you can have such fun, why others can't?"Igor supported his buddy.

"I'm not raping First Years"Zapała replied.

Marek only snorted.

"Man, you had girlfriends when we were on the First Year"he pointed out.

"Yes, I did. But I didn't tried to fuck them"Zapała still fought back.

"Okay. You, stay here"Marek ordered to Hisako.

Girl just nodded.

Marek and Igor stood in front of Zapała.

"Man, it's two to one. You know you're gonna lose"Igor said, with sinister smile.

"Wanna see?"Zapała asked belligerently.

As he said that, two boys rushed towards him. In that moment, Zapała grabbed his gun from holster and fired at the two, hitting them in arms. The two fell on the ground.

"Unfair!"Igor exclaimed.

"Exactly! We didn't took our guns!"Marek added.

"You think that I care? Get the fuck out of here"Zapała replied and, after few seconds, added"I still have 14 rounds in the magazine".

This worked and the two quickly stood up and ran away. Igor once turned around and said:

"Headmaster is gonna hear about it!"

He almost got hit by another bullet. And this was enough to finally outrun them from here. Zapała approached Hisako.

"Hey, kid. Everything's okay?"he asked.

"Yes. Thank you…Um…"Hisako said, don't knowing his name.

"Adrian Zapała"he introduced himself, giving her his hand.

Hisako shook his hand and introduced herself:

"Hisako Nikamura".

"I could guess that you're not 100% Polish"Adrian stated"But this doesn't matter if you're Polish or not. Next time, watch out on these two. They're real pain in the ass".

"Okay, I'll try"Hisako provided"Sorry, my friend is waiting".

"Maybe I'll go with you? Just in case"Adrian proposed.

Girl nodded. Then, they both went to meet Krystian.

Now…

"And this is what you regret? That they didn't raped you?"Shirley asked, a bit confused.

She then ended wrapping bandage around Hisako's body. Girl turned around and started to dress up.

"That's not it. It was just entrance to this what I'm talking about"Hisako explained.

"Well. At least I know how you met Adrian"Shirley said.

"True. But I'm not talking about it".

Hisako then saddened. Next, she started explaining:

"I met Marek and Igor one more time, during war in Europe in 2020. During defense of Białystok. I was disconnected from the rest of my team. I started to wander around the city, still hearing battle around"She stopped"Then, I found them".

Witch was looking into Hisako's eyes. There, she was seeing tears preparing to appear. She continued:

"Igor was dead, with chest torn apart by explosive bullets. While Marek was still breathing, with open fractures and without one leg. He was pleading me to help him. But I still remembered, what they wanted to do to me year earlier".

"So what have you done?"Shirley asked.

"I just left him. I was telling myself, that if I let him live, he's gonna hurt someone else. I left Marek for certain death. I could even try to mitigate his pain. But I just walked away. Like nothing happened"Hisako ended"I still have remorse".

Shirley was still looking at Hisako. Tears she was holding, finally appeared and went down her cheeks.

"Why do you have remorse? You described them as complete, don't be scared to say this, dicks. They wanted to rape you"Witch said.

"I know, but…"Hisako was thinking what to say"…but I'm Medic. And as Medic, my duty is to save everyone"She stopped again"No matter if I don't like, or like this person or persons. Shame that I didn't knew this earlier".

Hisako hung her head. Shirley put her hand at Hisako's arm.

"You don't have to blame yourself for that. You had reasons to do it"she said.

"I know but…I don't think I'm ever gonna forget how he was then looking at me"Hisako replied.

She grabbed her backpack and started to pack her medical equipment up. When everything was inside, she put the backpack on.

"Now, I think that we need to prepare this place for camp"Hisako stated.

"You think that we're not gonna find them, right?"Shirley deduced.  
"It's already getting dark. Trust me. I'm not going to be eaten by another jaguar or other jungle animal"girl explained.

As per her words, the two heard sound. And not any sound. It was sound of engine.

"You think the same as I think?"Shirley asked.

"Hide!"Hisako said, like she read Shirley's mind.

The two quickly jumped behind the trees next to them and waited on the development of situation.

Soon after, Chinese ZFB-91 light-weight armored personnel carrier drove onto the glade and stopped. It's three passengers, in form of soldiers, exited and secured the area. Crew exited too.

"Shǐ, Máo. Nǐ shuō wǒmen yǒu zúgòu de ránliào (Shit, Mao. You told that we have enough fuel)"one of crew members said.

Mao just threw up his arms.

"Tā fāshēngle (It happens)"Mao replied.

"Wǒmen bìxū jǐnkuài líkāi zhège bàndǎo, nǐ wàngle jiāyóu? Báichī (We have to leave this peninsula as fast as possible and you forgot to refuel? Idiot)"first one said.

"Wǒ bù zhīdào mòxīgē rén huì kāishǐ fǎngǎn (I didn't knew that Mexicans will start offensive)"Mao tried to justify himself.

"Wǒ xīwàng Nian huì hé tāmen tán tán zhè jiàn shì (I hope Nian will talk with them about that)"one of soldiers said.

Suddenly, there was a bang and Mao fell on the ground, with hole between eyes. Soldiers started to look around, looking for source of shot, which killed the driver. Then, there were two more shots and two soldiers fell dead. Second crew member reached his holster, right when another shot killed last soldier. Crew member looked around, with hands shaking and not letting him to aim properly. That's why he was quickly killed by last shot.

Shirley and Hisako exited their hiding place and looked at what they done.

"You know what they were talking about?"Shirley asked.

"No. But at least, we maybe have some transport. Check the driver's cabin"Hisako said.

"And you?"

"I will check if they have something on the back, in transport part".

Immediately they started to do their tasks.

Shirley climbed up the driver's cabin and approached the driver's hatch. She opened it and entered inside, looking at all the instruments. And her eyes stopped on fuel indicator. It was showing empty.

"So I don't think we're gonna do it to get to the meeting point"she stated.

But she noticed something else there. It was a standard vehicle mounted radio attached to the console.

"But we have this".

Shirley exited the driver's cabin and approached back, where Hisako was taking care of her task.

"Good news"Hisako said, once Shirley stood in the doors"We have sleeping bags and some food and water supplies".

"Cool. And I found working radio"Shirley said"But this APC is out of fuel and we can't use it to get anywhere".

"At least, we can contact with the others".

Hisako, with help of Shirley, dragged the sleeping bags out from APC and placed them under the trees. They also packed food and water to their backpacks and now, decided to make contact with boys.

They climbed the driver's cabin. Shirley reached through the hatch and grabbed the radio. Next, she set up good frequency and started to talk:

"This is Shirley, anybody, come in".

Only response was static.

"This is captain Charlotte Elwyn Yeager, anybody come in"Shirley tried again"We're in the middle of Yucatan jungle".

And again, there was only static. She looked at Hisako.

"I think that their radios went out of power too"she stated.

"What are we gonna do then?"Hisako asked.

Shirley put don the radio and jumped off of the cabin.

"I think that only thing we can do, is to wait through this night and think what to do tomorrow"she said.

"I just hope that everything will be okay with them"Hisako said.

Girl hung her head. Shirley again put hand on her arm.

"I'm sure they will. Now, We need to get some rest. We need to find them tomorrow"Witch tried to calm Hisako down.

Hisako nodded.

"Okay. Let's now take care of these sleeping bags".

They both came up to their sleeping bags and unzipped them. Next, they entered inside. Night was already visible on the sky.

"You know? I always wanted to sleep like that"Hisako said.

"How?"Shirley asked, didn't understanding.

"I mean, without roof over my head. I heard it's cool to sleep like that, but I never had chance to"girl explained.

"Yeah. I know what you mean".

Hisako once again looked around the area.

"Maybe better set up guard?"Hisako said.

Shirley looked at her and nodded.

"Good idea"Witch stood up"I'm going to take first one. We change by every hour".

"I can take the first one"Hisako proposed.

Witch, however, shook her head.

"You should rest. You're the wounded one".

"But I still can".

But Shirley was already going in the direction of group of trees. She entered between them. From her position, she was seeing all of the glade, at the same time being unnoticed by any possible enemy. She was sure, that when Chinese command in the area notice disappearance of one of their APCs, they surely send someone to investigate.

And if they enter this glade, Shirley will immediately take care of them.

" _Simple plan. Survive this night, find the plane wreck tomorrow, meet with the others and try to escape from here_ "Shirley thought.

However, another thought appeared in her head:

" _It's gonna be far worse, if that big jaguar will return_ ".

She was watching the glade, until she changed with Hisako.

September 15

09:22

Shirley and Hisako's camp

Hisako slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around. Next to the place, where Chinese APC appeared, two more bodies appeared.

" _I probably was too asleep to hear the shots_ "she stated in mind.

Shirley then exited from her hiding and approached her.

"That one last hour was calm, fortunately"Witch started.

"When did you killed them?"Hisako asked, pointing at two new bodies.

Witch looked in this direction and explained:

"They came here around 01:30. Although we changed guard just half an hour earlier, you already was dead sleeping. That's why you probably didn't heard shots".

"That makes sense"Hisako admitted.

She stood up and zipped up the sleeping bag. Shirley did the same with hers and they put them inside APC. Next they started to pack up the supplies from boxes inside.  
"Wait. I just noticed one thing"Hisako stated"We don't know, where is the crash site".

"Easy. I have this covered"Shirley replied calmly.

Witch led Hisako out of the APC. They stood in the middle of the glade and Shirley pointed at the completely dark smoke pole in the distance.

"I noticed it just three hours ago. And I'm sure it's the crash site"she said.

"Guess that we now know where our plane crashed"Hisako said.

"Exactly. But we need to move through the bushes, if we want to dodge any meeting with enemy forces".

"Got it".

The two took care of other things they had to do and walked in the direction of crash site, where they had to meet with the others.

11:02

Almost two hours later, the two was moving through the bushes. They already passed by several enemy patrols, with only two fights, where Shirley just used her gun with silencer. After that, they had no problems at all.

"How far is the crash site?"Hisako asked.

"I don't know"Shirley replied.

Just when Shirley said that, the crash site appeared in front of them. Enemies were walking all around the wreck laying at the edge of cliff. Hisako counted them all.

"In my opinion, around 20 of them"she stated.

"Let's try to move around them"Shirley proposed.

Hisako nodded in agreement.

They quickly ran from bushes to bushes, trying to make the less noise as they could. Several times they held breath, when enemy was walking just few centimeters next to them. Joy appeared in Shirley's mind, as they almost made it through.

And then, Hisako stepped on twig.

"Oh oh"Hisako said.

They then heard voices of soldiers from crash site.

"Oh, goddammit"Shirley said, taking her riffle, which she had strapped around her arm.

First bullets flew right next to her ear. She immediately returned fire, with Hisako joining her and first three enemies fell on the ground. Hisako then aimed at the two hiding behind part of the wing, right when one of them was leaning over, killing another one.

The two immediately moved behind the tree.

"You have any grenades?"Hisako asked.

"Yeah. Here you have them"Shirley replied, as she grabbed one of her grenades and threw to Hisako.

Girl caught the grenade and immediately pulled off the cotter. Shirley did the same and they threw the grenades. And these throws were so lucky, that they landed right between the bigger group of enemies, which noticed grenades too late. They exploded, killing them instantly.

"Wow, ten with two grenades. Good one"Shirley stated.

With these lucky grenades and four enemies killed earlier, only six of them left. Shirley killed the one, which was running from one cover to another.

Remaining five soldiers saw that they have no chance, so they quickly started to withdraw. But before they ultimately escaped, Shirley manged to eliminate two more.

"Let's now move to that hill"Hisako said.

Shirley nodded her head. The two quickly ran towards the hill, closest to crash site. On top of the hill, they saw one tree, with no one other than Krystian standing next to the tree.

The boy noticed noticed them and ran towards them. He approached Hisako and hugged her. Hisako returned the hug.

"I'm so happy that you're okay"he said.

"Easy. I had Shirley to help"Hisako replied.

Saltarski turned his eyes on Witch.

"Thanks for finding her"he said.

"No problem. This wasn't been hard task"Shirley replied.

They stopped hugging and Saltarski came straight to the bottom.

"I heard shots"he stated.

"Yeah, we had several issues. But it wasn't been so hard"Hisako explained.

"My radio went down and we couldn't contact you"Shirley explained.

"Mine went out of power too. And yours?"Krystian turned to Hisako.

"I lost my during escape from big jaguar"she said.

After hearing this, Krystian widened his eyes and looked at his friend.

"Jaguar? Did he hurt you?"he asked.

Hisako then turned and took off her backpack. Krystian saw three traces after claws and now red bandage under her uniform.

"Shirley helped me with bearing this. If not she, infection could appear"Hisako explained.

"Once again, thanks"Krystian again turned to Shirley.

Witch only waved her hand. Next, she asked:

"What about Linchov and Anton?"

Saltarski looked somewhere else and said:

"Yeah…There can be problem with that. Follow me".

With his words, two girls followed him and stood between nearby bushes. From there they saw Linchov and Anton kneeling in the small river, in front of two Chinese, with hands behind their heads. Chinese officer was standing in front of them, with two more soldiers acting as his bodyguards.

"I didn't expected that"Shirley admitted.

"Easy. Prepare…"He then noticed two Chinese riffles they had with them"…your guns. We do it quick".

The two did what he said and he ordered:

"Now".

They fired their riffles at the same time, taking out both soldiers behind Linchov and Anton, Hisako killed the officer. Two boys immediately stood up, quickly approached remaining two soldiers, took guns from holsters and fired in their faces. Next, the two approached their weapons equipment laying nearby.

"You didn't hurried much"Linchov stated.

"Yeah, we had several issues"Saltarski said, quoting Hisako"But it's okay now".

He stood in front of now full team and said:

"Yesterday I managed to get working radio and contacted Guantanamo. They send help. I have coordinates and frequency on which I can contact them. It's two kilometers away from here".

"But why haven't you used this radio to contact us?"Linchov asked.

"I didn't managed to. Chinese shot it out of my hand. So I shot him"he explained.

Suddenly, whole ground started so shake.

"What was that?"Shirley asked.

"I don't know"Krystian said"Anyway, better don't be easy target. Quietly, fast and we reach home in one piece".

The squad went down the almost empty canyon.

"I think we have chopper in front of us"Anton said.

"I hear it. These canyons aren't helping them in any way"Krystian said.

"Let's use this"Linchov said.

Meanwhile, Shirley leaned to Hisako.

"Why is Christian so calm? Lizing ran away"she asked.

"Trust me. He is very good at hiding his negative emotions inside"Hisako explained.

Witch nodded.

They came under the rock arch over the canyon and hid behind several bushes and rocks in the area. Meanwhile, on the second end of canyon, Chinese Eurocopter Super Puma with box attached to it by rope.

"Supply drop. Guess they're moving forward"Anton stated.

"Let them go"Saltarski ordered.

Not soon after he said that, Chinese soldiers started to move in opposite direction and walked away, while helicopter flew somewhere else.

"Good, I thing they're moving. We're going up the stream, hiding"Linchov explained.

The team moved forwards, following the Chinese. Their boots were already filled with water, but in this case nobody took care about this.

"Mako, where are you?"Saltarski contacted their help from Guantanamo.

"We're moving up the river! We should meet soon!"Mako replied.

Suddenly, Chinese soldiers that earlier went away returned from around the turn and stood in front of the team. Fortunately, Coalition troops were the ones to fire first and Chinese fell onto the ground, coloring the water in red.

"That was close one"Shirley stated.

"Yeah. Let's go. W have to move forward"Anton said.

Behind the turn from where the soldiers exited, they were blinded by sunlight glowing between the gray clouds and two rock formations. Suddenly, they heard noise, which Linchov immediately recognized:

"RPG!"

Missile exploded right in front of the, forcing them to quickly hide behind rocks. Another missile came from second side of canyon.

"Ambush!"Anton exclaimed.

He leaned from behind his cover and fired at RPG soldier standing on the rock shelf. His body collapsed and fell on the ground. Second soldier with RPG was taken care of by Linchov, which fired at the one standing in the mane way going through the canyon. His bullet hit perfectly in the missiles carried on his back, causing them to explode and ripping the soldier into little pieces, together with his RPG-7.

More soldiers entered the canyon and hid behind the rocks. Krystian took his grenade and threw towards them, scoring five kills. Linchov, in the meantime, put bayonet on his riffle and rushed towards another soldier, sinking bayonet in his throat. Hisako covered him from enemy which tried to take him out from his side.

When the canyon was clear, the five moved forward, leaving the canyon and again entering the jungle. They hid between the trees and saw more enemies wandering between the bushes.

Anton nodded to Krystian. They both reached their grenades, pulled the cotter and threw them. Some soldiers turned around, when they heard grenades falling between the bushes. But once they approached to check them, grenades exploded, killing the closest enemies.

Coalition troops leaned from their tree covers and fired at remaining enemies. With this done, their path was clear. Now, in front of them, was only open field full of grass, with just one tree growing in the middle.

"You hear that?"Hisako asked.

"Chopper. We wait in the tree line. Let them fly by"Linchov stated.

Right then, the said helicopter flew over and stopped over the grass field. But he was soon joined by two more helicopters.

"Great"Anton asked.

Helicopters flew away and they moved forward.

"Quiet and secretly. We meet at the ridge on the second side"Saltarski said"Follow me, one column".

"Little spacing"Linchov added.

"Heads down"Shirley added.

And so they continued to move forward, covered by the grass from enemies on the ground. After walking around fifty meters, Krystian ordered:

"Alright, keep moving. We're close to the river".

He then reached his radio and contacted with their evacuation.

"Mako, we're at the river"he said.

Again, whole ground started to shake and cloud of dark dust appeared on on hill several kilometers away from them. This time, tremor powerful, that almost everyone overturned and landed on the ground.

"What the hell is this?!"Anton shouted.

Answer was delivered to him in form of…giant missile flying towards the sky from behind the hill. It's additional engines departed from it and fell down.

"Holy shit"Linchov said, stunned by what he just saw"It's a nuke?"

"I dunno"Hisako replied.

"And we finally know, why Chinese needed Yucatan"Shirley stated.

Saltarski's radio was filled with static and everyone heard Mako's voice:

"Missile in the air! You're coming or what?"

"I'm sure you know the answer, Mako!"Krystian shouted back.

Right then, the sound of helicopter rotors could be heard.

"Chopper incoming! Down!"Linchov ordered.

The five immediately fell on the ground into the grass, right before chopper flew over their heads. In that moment, it started to rain.

"Steady"Saltarski said.

Helicopter was circling around over them by next few seconds, until it finally flew away, leaving them.

"We have to go. Now"Hisako said.

The five stood up and turned in the tunnel, with ceiling made of the fallen trees and once they entered it, they started to slide down the wet ground.

"We have multiple missiles in the air! We're running out of time, whats your location?"Mako asked in radio.

"One minute, Mako! We're almost there!"Saltarski reported back.

"Copy that! We're ready!"Mako replied.

"Don't turn your engine off!"Saltarski ordered, before he disconnected.

"This asshole won't get out of here easy after something like that"Linchov stated.

"Easy, you shot, but after me"Anton said to him.

They continued to run between the trees and rocks, until they reached another small river. And as they noticed, it was ending with waterfall.

"I think we need to get wet"Shirley stated.

"But without me!"Krystian exclaimed.

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"What are you talking about?"Linchov asked.

"I'm not gonna jump! I have acrophobia!"he explained.

Linchov frowned.

"You didn't had this problem back in Beijing"he stated.

Saltarski only sent heavy look to him.

"Because we then had ropes! What if it's shallow down there?"he continued to justify himself.

"Listen, it's not time for this!"Hisako stated"Go, we will catch up with you".

Shirley, Anton and Linchov looked at the two and walked away to prepare. Meanhwile, Hisako threw her riffle on the ground and grabbed Krystian's hand.

"We're gonna do this together"she said"On three. One…"

"…two…"Krystian continued.

"…three!"Hisako ended.

"Everybody, jump!"Anton exclaimed.

They then rushed towards the edge of cliff and jumped. Under them, they could see river and the foam in the place, where waterfall falls into the river.

"Damn it!"Saltarski shouted.

In this moment, they landed in the water. Krystian closed his eyes as the only one and didn't opened them until they were on the surface. He checked if he still has all limbs in place and when he done this, he exclaimed:

"I'm alive!"

"I'm closing to the evac point"Mako said.

Sound of boat motor engines could be heard and the five looked left. There, they saw two SOC-R boats, which approached them and stopped.

"You're on time"Shirley stated.

"I know. We did it as fast as we could"familiar voice said.

When Hisako and Saltarski heard this voice, they smiled. Riley then stood on the edge of board, with Adrian right behind her.

"Adrian? What are you doing here?"Krystian asked, grabbing Adrian's arm.

"Yesterday"he said, pulling the boy into the boat"I got informed about this, what happened. I took Riley and came to Guantanamo as fast as I could".

After few minutes, everyone was on board. Two boats started to move down the river, with their weapons aimed at both riverbanks.

23:47

C-17 hold

After several hours, everyone was on their way home. They quickly left Yucatan and there, two Chinook helicopters took them and flew to Guantanamo. There, they sat into C-17 and flew back to Europe.

Linchov, Anton, Shirley and Hisako, with Riley on her knees, were sleeping. Only Adrian and Krystian were still on legs. In front of them, on a box, was standing a laptop with opened video conference with Michael.

"NORAD stated this without a doubt: missile fired from Yucatan hadn't hit in the USA"Michael said.

"Where did it flew then?"Adrian asked.

"I don't know. It disappeared from radars over the Gulf of Mexico".

"But it was nuke or it wasn't?"Saltarski asked.

"We don't know. It was too fast and we were unable to state any specifications about it. CIA says, that it could be this new type of missile they were hearing a lot about"the American stated.

Adrian and Krystian looked at each other.

"What kind of missile you mean?"Adrian asked.

"This".

A plan of missile appeared on the screen. It's specifications were saying, that it was 20 meters tall and could reach maximum speed of 4500 km/h in just 30 seconds.

"It was this?"Michael asked.

Krystian shook his head.

"I don't know. It was too fast. I didn't managed to see it good. Nor any of us"he said.

Michael sighed.

"That's a pity. Because this is new type of orbiting ballistic missile"he explained.

"Orbiting ballistic missile?"surprised Adrian asked.

"Or OBM in short. It's type of missile, which engines are turned off, once it reach the orbit. Then, Chinese can turn engines on at any moments, hitting every target in every place".

Both Saltarski and Adrian whistled.

"Well. Better if they don't fire it at us"Saltarski stated.

"Yeah. Better"Micheal then said something to someone behind the screen"Sorry, they're calling me. I have to go"And he disconnected.

Two boys then returned to their seats.

"What do you think about this, Boss?"Adrian asked.

"About that missile? I don't know. But I know one thing"He looked at Adrian"Lizing is free again. And wherever he is now, I'm gonna find him. Nobody will stop me".

Adrian just sighed.

"You're still about that?"he asked.

"Does it surprise you?"

He just threw up arms. Next, they were sitting and listening to the plane's engines, until finally falling asleep.

XXX

 **Final part of 'Search for Lizing' Arc is over and as you can see, their plan didn't quiet worked out.**

Barkhorn: You don't say?

 **Hey, I'm just saying it to the audience.**

Maleroshka: Be happy, that Saltarski went somewhere else. He is really pissed off about this everything.

 **Anyway, that's all. In next chapter, we're getting back to Europe, where Coalition will try to enter Germany. See ya in next chapter!**

Barkhorn: Goodbye.

Maleroshka: Yo!


	18. School Chapter 3

**In the third School Chapter, our favorite Karlsland Witches, more precisely one of them, will be having problems with school's laws and headmaster.**

 **Without further ado.**

School Chapter 3

,,It wasn't me"

July 22, 2022

09:23

History Classroom

Lesson was dragging on like it never had to end. Erica was hardly focusing on what teacher was saying.

"…GDR forces advanced through FRG…"history teacher continued.

Professor Helmut Fünerling was a middle aged, in middle of his 40s. He had short brown hair and visible belly. He was dressed in German infantry uniform.

Suddenly, he put his head on the blackboard and started snoring. Nobody was paying attention on this, because it was happening all the time. Professor could fell asleep in the middle of the lesson and wake up, continuing what he was saying, like nothing happened.

Because of this, some people started talking, others took their phones and started writing messages or playing games.

" _Finally some time for sleep_ "Erica thought

She put her head on her desk and started snoring like the teacher.

Not soon after she closed her eyes, she heard a voice:

"Maybe lieutenant Hartmann will say something more about GDR-FRG War, hm?"  
This immediately woke Erica up. She didn't knew how long she was sleeping, but teacher was already awake and all eyes were turned on her.

"Um…I…It was like…"she tried to say.

Teacher nodded his head.

"As I thought. Let's get back to the subject. And no more sleeping"he pointed out.

Everyone started giggling and Erica tried to hide, but had nowhere to go.

09:57

Corridor

Erica was sitting under the wall, with her legs pulled to her face and face covered in hands. She was still thinking about this what just happened.

"Hartmann? Why are you sitting like that?"Barkhorn asked, stopping next to Erica.

"I fell asleep on lesson and teacher scolded"Erica replied.

Barkhorn just rolled up her eyes. But seeing how broken Erica was because of that, she thought that it would be better if she'll try to cheer her up.

"You see, falling asleep is not worst thing that can happen to you on lesson"she said.

Erica looked at her friend.

"Really?"she asked.

"Really"Barkhorn replied"Ursula once told me what happened to her. She woke up in the morning and noticed that she's late for lessons. So she quickly took everything and ran to the class. There, when she stood in the door, everyone immediately laughed. It was that moment, when she noticed that she's in her pajamas".

Blonde Witch laughed a bit.

"Yeah. Maybe it's actually not the worst thing that could happen"she stated.

"Let's go now. We have to meet Minna in Bar&Grill"Barkhorn said.

Next, the two went to find Minna.

10:03

Deck 4

Minna, in the meantime, was on Deck 4, talking with Dorothee by phone. Dorothee, on the other hand, was on the second side of the ship.

"So, Minna. Will you give me private singing lessons?"Dorothee asked.

"Why is that?"Minna replied.

"Please, you're the best singer I know! And our music teacher said, that my singing is 'so bad that I could kill every being with it'"Dorothee pleaded.

Minna though about it for a moment and finally nodded her head.

"Okay. Can we meet tomorrow after the lessons?"she proposed.

"Sure! Thank you!"Dorothee said.

Dorothee disconnected and Minna hid her phone to pocket. But before she could walk away, she felt someone pulling her sleeve. When she turned, she didn't noticed anyone.

"Um…Down there…"female voice said.

Witch looked a bit down and saw a girl, with height reaching Minna's chest. It was girl from her class, Ingrid Shnellinger. She had gray eyes and mouse blonde hair, tied in a single ponytail. Because of this, and because of her small height and her shy personality, she was always the one hard to notice in between other people. Ingrid was so unnoticeable that she even gained nickname 'Mousie' by other classmates. Others were joking, that she could be first ever Stealth soldier, because no enemy would ever turn their attention on her.

"Oh, hey. What do you need?"Minna asked.  
"Oh, I…wanted to ask…how did you get such hair color?"Ingrid murmured.

Minna tilted her head a little.

"I just imbued them. Chestnut is my original color"she explained.

"Thanks!"Ingrid said and ran away.

Next, Minna turned around and went to Bar&Grill, thinking:

" _I wonder why she needed this information?_ "

10:12

Bar&Grill

 **Truth-Chingiz**

"And she just asked you how you got your hair color?"Barkhorn asked.

Minna told them about this what Ingrid asked her about.

"Yeah. I just wonder, why she needed that?"Minna replied.

Erica took another sip of her tea and looked at her commander.

"Maybe she want to replace you?"she stated"Yesterday I watched a movie with Florian, Luca and Markus. _The 6_ _th_ _Day_ , I think I was called. There, some pilot discovers that he was replaced with copy of himself".

Barkhorn just snorted.

"It was just a movie, Hartmann. This world is advanced, but not to make copies of people. Maybe Ingrid just wanted to change the color"she said.

"Maybe you're right. But you're gonna remember my words"Erica stated.

Then, the bell ringed. Barkhorn grabbed her backpack and stood up.

"I have biology now. And don't think about this case with Ingrid. It surely nothing"she said.

Next, all Witches walked in separate ways.

July 23, 2022

07:23

Headmaster's office

Headmaster Kurt Esherting was sitting in his office, trying to find out how to use this computer, he had installed in his office just two weeks ago. It was true, that one of students lately showed him how to use it, but he already forgot this. As someone, who grew up in East Germany, things connected with computer were sometimes the hardest for him.

But he needed to get some recordings from security cameras from girls toilet on Deck 1. It's not like he was some kind of pervert, who likes to look at girls in toilet, but charwoman today found a bottle after wine in the trash bin in toilet.

But how that guy was doing it? He was clicking somewhere there, then there and there…Headmaster saw a text field with word 'Search' on it. He pressed it and written 'girls toilet on Deck 1'. Next, he waited until everything will load and on screen appeared saved files with recordings and current preview.

The cursor went in direction of file signed 'Yesterday' and pressed it. Recording started, showing everything what happened since the midnight. Student also showed headmaster, how to speed the recording up. Esherting saw the double arrow button and pressed it. Recording immediately started to go fast forward, passing hours in just simple seconds.

There it is! Not bad as for someone grown up in GDR. At 18:21, red haired girl approached the corner of the toilet and reached her bag. From inside, she took the bottle of wine, the same as the one charwoman gave to headmaster.

Girl put bottle to her mouth and quickly drank all of it. Next, she approached the trash bin and threw bottle inside and simply left the toilet, like nothing happened.

Headmaster fell on the backrest of his chair. He wanted it to not be true, but well. He knew only one red haired girl in whole school and he now had to talk to colonel Wilcke personally, face-to-face.

07:32

Corridor

Yesterday, after lessons and before Minna gave lessons to Dorothee, Barkhorn and Erica agreed to meet with Minna under her class, few minutes before the first bell. However, only three minutes left to bell and Minna was nowhere to be seen.

"We had to meet ten minutes ago. Where is she?"Erica asked.

"Trust me, Minna will come soon. You really doubt her?"Barkhorn replied.

Erica looked at her and quickly shook her head.

"Of course not, it's just…"she didn't ended.

Right then, they saw Minna walking in their direction.

"See? I told you"Barkhorn stated triumphantly.

However, except of stopping, Minna just passed them and walked away. She entered the classroom, not even paying attention on them. And Erica noticed one thing.

"Did Minna…shrunk?"she asked.

"What do you mean by this?"Minna asked.

Two Witches turned around, to see their commander standing right next to them. Next, again looked at the classroom door. And again at Minna.

"How did you done this?"Barkhorn asked.  
"Did what?"Minna asked.

"You just walked next to us and entered classroom"Erica explained.

Minna just nodded her head.

"No. I just came here and I'm going to class now"she replied.

In that moment, the bell rang.

"That's what I'm talking about. Now, sorry, I have physics now"Minna said and walked away, leaving two confused Witches.

She entered the classroom, where almost everyone was already sitting and taking books. Minna approached her desk and also sat down. Next, she looked at Franz, which was in the same class as her and was sitting next to her.

"Are you okay?"Minna asked, seeing him shaking.

"Of course not. Today, she's giving back our exams. I'm sure she gave me the lowest grade"Franz replied.

"Oh, it can't be so bad"Minna tried to calm him down.

Everyone in school heard about the physics teacher, Helga Mafer. She was known from her love for giving smallest grades to almost everyone she had in class.

In that moment, door opened and teacher entered the class. Helga Mafer was around 53 years old, with black hair, with already visible traces of hoar. She had green eyes and was dressed in black jacket and pants.

"Oh, God I'm so stressed"Franz whispered.

She came up to the desk and sat down, opening the journal. She looked around the class. It was time to teach these young people something what they would need in life. And to give some sixes! (A/N: In Germany, 6 is the lowest grade, while 1 is highest).

Her eyes then stopped on red haired girl in the second end of the class. Her head was laying on the desk and she was surely sleeping. Mafer looked into journal and written 6 in the grill next to her name.

"When she wakes up, tell miss Wilcke that she has six for sleeping on lesson"teacher stated.

Minna felt her jaw almost dropping after hearing this. How she could give her six? She didn't done anything wrong. Especially, she was not sleeping.

"But I'm not sleeping!"Minna exclaimed.

Teacher then moved her sight on her and again at red haired girl in the second end of classroom. She just threw up her arms.

"Sorry, but it's already written. I can't change this"Mafer replied, with smile saying that truly she's not as sorry as she said.

Witch followed teachers sight and looked in the same direction, this time dropping her jaw for sure. Because on Ingrid's place was sitting another girl with red hair combed in the same style as Minna. Witch was just too surprised to say anything.

" _So Erica was right_ "Minna though in disbelief.

In that moment, someone knocked to door.

"Enter!"Mafer ordered.

After she said that, door opened and two Kommando Spezialkrafte soldiers entered. They came up to Minna and stood over her.

"You're going with us. Headmaster wants to see you"first of them said with female voice.

Minna just sighed. She had no other choice, but to listen to them. She stood up and followed two soldiers.

Once the door closed, Mafer turned to the rest of class and said:

"Please, tell her that she has absence".

"But she was called by headmaster"someone in the back said.

"Absence is not punishment, but statement of fact"Mafer said as calm as she could"Now, it's time on your tests".

She took a pile of paper laying on her desk and started to walk from one desk to another, giving tests to their owners. Franz just landed on his desk, when he saw 6 on his test.

07:56

Headmaster's office

Minna knocked to the door and when she heard 'Please come in!' she pushed the handle and entered inside, with soldiers which led her here staying outside. Headmaster was simply sitting in his chair, behind the desk. Minna approached him and he showed her second chair, on the second side of the desk.

"Please, sit down"he said.

Witch took the chair and sat down on it.

"You wanted to see me, sir"she said.

"I wanted indeed, colonel"Esherting replied.

By next few seconds, only silence was heard in the office. Finally, headmaster leaned closer and looked in Minna's eyes.

"I don't accept any breaking of school's rules"he stated.

Minna's jaw dropped once again. First, she get bad grade because of Ingrid, then headmaster calls her and now this. When she would break these rules? And how she broke them?

Answer was delivered by headmaster. He turned his computer screen to her and showed the recording. On it, Minna entered the toilet, took bottle of wine from bag, drank all of it and threw to the trash bin.

But Minna payed attention on something else. More precisely, on bag carried by her on the recording. She didn't had such bag, but she knew who has.

"It wasn't me"she said.

"What?"Esherting asked.

"It's Ingrid Shnellinger, sir. She has such bag. Not me"Minna explained.

Headmaster looked at Minna, then on Minna on recording. For him, there was no difference and bag was not any evidence. She could change it since then.

"You think that I will believe in it?"he asked.

Witch just hung her head. It was visible, that girl on recording was shorter than her.

"I'm sorry. But in this school, we teach future soldiers of Germany and drinking alcohol, smoking and taking drugs is here known as one of biggest transgressions"Esherting started to explain"For this, an degradation and suspension in student's duties awaits you. I'm sorry, but it's only your fault, colonel".

Minna just couldn't believe. Back in their world, she was working so hard to get where she was now and she had to lose it…just like that?

She stood up and leaned over him, saying:

"And you know what I think about this? These rules are simple bullshit. Someone have to lose it's hard work only because he drank alcohol once? What if he just one time tried and never did this again? You take all of his achievements only because of this one time? It really wasn't me, please, ask Barkhorn and Erica. They can tell you, that I would never drink alcohol, you asshole".

Before she orientated what she was saying, she already said it. Esherting's face changed color into red and he was looking at Minna with real fury.

"I can't tolerate such behavior, colonel. Headmaster is also considered as part of pedagogical body and saying something like this to headmaster or any other teacher is unacceptable"he exclaimed.

He reached one of drawers in his desk and opened it. From there, headmaster took piece of paper and gave it to Minna.

She started to read it, with every word widening her eyes more and more.

"Court? But I…"she tried to say, but was stopped.

"If we can't take care of this peacefully, we need to do this in different way. See you tomorrow at the trial"Esherting explained.

Minna tried to oppose, but headmaster literally pointed her the door, so she knew it was over. She stood up and came up to the door.

On the outside, she met two commandos still standing there.

"You're gonna now lead me to my room, right?"she asked.

Commandos looked at each other and shook their heads.

"No, it's just…"female one tried to say"Headmaster never liked when somebody undermines his authority".

"And when he gets angry, he commonly makes decisions that are sometimes…drastic"second one, male, said.

Witch just looked at them.

"What are you trying to tell me by this?"she asked.

The two looked at each other and female commando replied:

"Just don't make him angry anymore".

Minna only nodded and walked away.

08:16

Bar&Grill

 **Diving In Too Deep-NerdOut! _Subnautica_ Song**

Paratroopers from Minna's squad were sitting at their table, listening to Franz's relation from what happened. He told them everything what happened on the lesson and some of them were, saying it lightly, not happy about that.

"Minna got bad grade only because Ingrid was sleeping?"Astrid asked in disbelief. She hit her opened hand with fist"I knew I should take care of this physics hag".

"Maybe better no, Trid"Dorothee said"You want to land in jail or, worse, be kicked out of school?"

This calmed Astrid down a little.

At this moment, Minna entered the bar and came up the squad. She sat next to them and just hung her head.

"Hey, are you okay?"Dora asked.

"Not quite"Minna answered, reaching her bag and giving the summons to her.

Dora took it and started to read, widening eyes more and more with every word. Next, she showed it to everyone, with the same result.

"He sued you to court? Only because Ingrid was sleeping and you got whole punishment?"Astrid asked with bigger disbelief"Enough! I'm going to kill this physics hag!"

"That's not it"Minna said.

Everyone looked at her.

"No?"Arian asked.

"No. It turns out, that Ingrid was drinking a wine in toilet. Everything is on recordings. He showed me. I tried to oppose, but he didn't believed me. I finally exploded and it ended like this"Witch reported to them.

"Ingrid drinking wine in toilet?"Franz asked"Unexpected".

Suddenly, Erwin realized something:

"Our headmaster knows how to use computer and watch security cameras?!"

"Why it's so strange?"Minna turned to him.

"Headmaster grew up in Leipzig, back when there was German Democratic Republic and Federal Republic of Germany. To your information, Leipzig was in GDR"Arian explained.

"And it was hard, almost impossible, to get any computer in communist countries"Franz added.

Minna nodded in understanding.

In the same time, Frauke was rubbing her shin. She often spends time with Ingrid, because she was only person that wanted to be her friend. And Ingrid never showed any signs of liking alcohol.

"It's not like her"she thought out loud.

"What do you mean by this?"Arian asked.

Frauke turned to everyone.

"I mean, that Ingrid never was person, which liked to drink alcohol. And you know that sometimes I spent a lot of time with her"Frauke explained.

Everyone nodded.

"I think we need to bring her to Minna's trial tomorrow"Franz said"Frauke"he turned to her"it's your task".

She saluted and recited:

"To your service, major Kroshause!"

"So we have a plan. But what we have to do?"Dora asked.

"I think there's nothing we can do"Arian stated.

Minna hung her head. Franz put his hand on her arm.

"Everything is gonna be okay. Trust me"he said.

"Okay, let's go then. Everything is gonna explain tomorrow"Minna said.

Other agreed. They stood up and were ready to go. However, only Franz and Astrid were still sitting.

"You're not going?"Dorothee asked.

The two looked at each other and Astrid replied:

"We're gonna catch up with you. Really".

Dorothee tilted her head.  
"Okay then"she said and walked away.

When paratroopers left and the two made sure that nobody looks in their direction, they moved closer to each and…kissed.

"When are you going to tell them?"Astrid asked, after the stopped.

"I just…don't think they're ready right now"Franz answered.

Astrid only crossed hands over her chest.

"You're telling me this for tenth time. I promise. You will delay this more and then, find new girlfriend for yourself"she said.

Franz quickly shook his head.

"Wait, wait. We don't need to go so radical"he said, but Astrid's firm look was not giving away"Okay. Maybe we tell them after this whole case is over. Okay?"

Astrid nodded.

"Let it be. But don't try to fool me"she pointed out.

Boy nodded and the two followed the rest.

July 24, 2022

09:09

Bundeswehr High School court

Hall, in which the trial had to take place, was filled with people, which were or headmaster or Minna's supporters. Or just wanted to see how this will plays out.

Minna was sitting behind her bench with Erica, her defender. Blonde haired Witch was currently looking on some papers inside her suitcase. Minna noticed, that these papers were all clear.

"Remind me, why I agreed on you representing me?"Minna asked.

"Because I'm your favorite wingman"Erica replied, closing the suitcase.

Minna frowned.

"I don't have any favorites in 501st"she said.

"No. But I'm your long time friend"Erica stated.

Minna tried to oppose it, but was unable to find words for this.

Meanwhile, other Karlsland Witches and paratroopers were sitting in the first row, right behind Minna.

"Well. Never expected to take part in alternate world trial"Rall stated.

"Welcome to Bundeswehr High School"Barkhorn said.

"Easy, we have a plan to make this trial go good for Minna"Franz said, leaning to them.

Witches looked at the boy.

"What plan?"Rosman asked.

"Everything will be explained in it's time"Astrid replied.

Right then, all chat was stopped by recorder, which just entered the hall. He stood in the middle and looked at everyone.

"Please stand up, judge is coming"he announced.

At this moment, everyone stood up. Soon after, judge entered the hall, ran through it and disappeared in the door on second side.

"Please sit down, judge ran by"recorder said.

Everyone sat back down, confused by what just happened. Then, they heard judge's voice saying:

"Sis, I told you to not come here".

"I promised mom and dad, that I'll take care of you"his sister replied"By the way, I brought you your lunch".

"Thanks. But don't make me shame another time".

"I make you shame? I'm just trying to take good care about my younger brother!"

These words ended the conversation. Judge came back to the hall, carrying lunch bag in his hand. He entered his sit and sat down, placing lunch bag next to him.

"Okay, let's get this started"judge said"Leading judge, Orbert Müller. Deputy judge, Mika Ohelshaft. Recorder, Flynn Hellinger. Accused, lieutenant colonel Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke. Prosecutor, headmaster Kurt Esherting. The reason of accusation: undermining headmaster's authority and drinking wine in public place".

Witches widened their eyes, after hearing the reason of accusation.

"Easy. Let me explain"Franz said and started explaining.

"First, let the representative of colonel Wilcke"judge stated.

Erica stood up and entered the middle of room.

"Thank you"she started"What can I say? I know Minna since the start of war with Neuroi, back in our world. I'm flying with her so long, that I can say one many things about her".

Minna smiled, hearing what Erica was saying. However, next words that came from Erica's mouth made this smile disappear:

"She's the biggest and the most dangerous psychopath I've ever met! There was not single battle, during which she almost 'accidentally' shot me down! Once, she even pushed me straight into Neuroi's laser! It's a miracle that I'm even alive!"

Silence hung in the air. Nobody, even headmaster didn't knew what to say. Franz stopped telling, while Barkhorn tightened her fists, ready to go there and silence Hartmann. But Rall put hand on her shoulder.

"Is this…everything you wanted to tell us?"judge asked.

"Yes"Erica replied.

She simply turned around, simply came up to Minna and simply sat down. She again looked into her suitcase and closed it.

"Nice speech"Minna said with a sneer.

"Thanks"Erica replied, like she didn't noticed it.

"You're my defender, you know?"

Erica looked at Minna with true surprise on her face.

"Really? But you have to admin. I was pretty convincing"Erica said, with satisfaction in voice.

Minna only grabbed her head and put her elbows on the bench. She shook her head and whispered:

"Please, Frauke. Hurry up".

09:19

Deck 4

While trial was taking place, Frauke was tasked to find Ingrid and bring her there, to prove Minna's innocence. She already looked into Ingrid's room, but didn't found her there. She also checked some places on Decks 2 and 3, where she sometimes goes with Ingrid, but she wasn't been there either.

"Oh, where the fuck is she?!"frustrated Frauke finally exclaimed.

She immediately covered her mouth. She never liked to curse, because her parents always were saying her, everyone who curse have no culture at all.

"Sorry"she said, though nobody could hear her.

Right then, Frauke heard something. As she listened closer, she recognized, that this sound is…snoring? It was coming from nearby turn, so Frauke approached it. She leaned from around the corner and giant smile, barely fitting on her face, appeared.

Ingrid was laying on the bench in the corridor, sleeping, what was strange in her case. But then, Frauke noticed bottle of wine laying next to her.

Girl approached Ingrid and stood over her. She touched her few times.

"Just five more minutes…"Ingrid murmured.

Frauke thought about it. Then, idea appeared in her head. She quickly ran in the direction of nearby charwoman storeroom, from where she took a small bucket. Next, she went to the toilet, where she filled the bucket with water. She approached Ingrid and splashed the water over Ingrid. It worked.

Ingrid immediately opened her eyes and looked at Frauke standing next to her with bucket.

"I want to sleep"Ingrid stated.

"No, you can't"Frauke replied with firmly tone.

"Yeah, I can't, Frauke"Ingrid said"I want to kill myself".

This statement was surprise for Frauke.

"What? Why?"she asked.

Ingrid sat on the bench and explained:

"I wanted Herbert to finally notice me. This is why I asked Minna about her hair color. Then I changed it. And combed my hair like she did. And this wine you probably know about? I wanted to give myself more courage with that. And then, I walked to Herbert".

Frauke then noticed tears in Ingrid's eyes.

"But when I told him that I feel something for him, he said, that he would never love such wreck as me. This I why I stated to take to drink myself to death"she stopped"This is the last thing that left for me".

She then just couldn't stop it and started to cry. Frauke hugged her.

"Don't cry. Such idiots as Herbert are not worth it"she said"But there is still something we need to do. And don't be angry if I ask".

"What?"Ingrid asked, still crying.

"You see. Headmaster saw cameras on which you was drinking this wine. He thinks it was Minna and now, they're in court. So…you need to go there".

Girl expected Ingrid to reject, but mush to her surprise, something opposite happened.

"Good. I'll do it"Ingrid stated.

"Really?"Frauke asked, don't covering surprise.

"Yes. It's all my fault. I can try to fix it".

"Good. Let's go then"Frauke said, standing up.

Ingrid followed her and two girls ran on the trial.

09:34

Court

"…so I ask once again. Does lions roar, because they want to scare their victim, or because they really only want to sing?"Erica asked, after twenty minutes of talking.

Half of people in the hall was already sleeping, second half was almost asleep. Minna explained her, that they need time fro Frauke to find and get Ingrid there. So Erica came up with 'brilliant', as she said, plan.

She once again entered the middle of room and started to started from defending Minna, this time for real, and she slowly came from this, to where she was now, so the question: Does lions want be singers?

"For God's sake"Barkhorn said"I didn't knew she can make so stupid talks".

When she didn't received any response from others, she looked at paratroopers and other Witches, only to discover that they're sleeping too.

"Really?"she asked herself.

"I promise, three more minutes of her talk and I'm changing to Islam"judge said.

"Why?"recorder asked.

"Because in Islam, man can do whatever he wants with woman".

Recorder frowned.

"I…don't think it works like that".

Judge just grabbed his hammer and hit his desk several times.

"Alright, alright! Enough!"he ordered"Now, let our second defender to say what he wants!"

"But…"Erica tried to say, but was cut off.

"No! It's and absolute order of judge! Do it, or we throw you out of there!"judge shouted to her.

Erica only looked at him and returned to Minna's bench.

"Well. At least you tried"she said.

Her defender only threw her arms up.

Meanwhile, headmaster's defender entered the middle of hall and looked around at everyone. Half of people was still sleeping.

"Thank you, that I finally can say something"he said, looking at Erica"My client, as probably everyone knows, is innocent. He is the victim. He wanted to gently not something to colonel Wilcke and she"He then pointed at Minna"started to scream at him and call everything what he said, quoting, 'bullshit'".

Minna winced. Yeah, that was actually true.

"Wait, wasn't there two more witnesses of this talk?"Erica asked.

"Unfortunately, they both were injured yesterday, during the training and can't come here"headmaster's defender explained.

"Is this everything you wanted to say?"judge asked him.

"Yes".

He simply turned around, walked up to his bench and sat down.

"Well then"judge started"After listening both sides, especially one of them"He sent heavy look to Erica"I can give my precipitate".

He stood up.

"Hereby, I declare lieutenant colonel Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke guilty of everything she was accused of. From now on…"

"STOP!"Frauke shouted.

She was standing in the door and her shout woke everyone sleeping up. Others, which were not sleeping, turned their eyes in this direction, only to see Frauke in company of Ingrid, which still looked like Minna.

"Finally"Minna whispered.

Frauke led Ingrid to the middle of room, accompanied by surprised gasps of surprise of people seeing, that Ingrid looks like Minna.

When they stood in front of judge, Frauke said:

"Minna wasn't been drinking any wine in the toilet!"

"Yes. I did it"Ingrid said shyly.

Another wave of surprised gasps went through the hall.

"Wait. Really? You did it?"judge turned to Ingrid.

She nodded.

"Okay then. It means, that I can only convict colonel Wilcke for…"he tried to say, but couldn't.

"There no need for that. I want to back my accusations off"headmaster said.

Judge looked at him with questioning look.

"Now, when I know, that it wasn't been colonel, I can understand why she said this everything. I also don't like, when someone accuses me for something I didn't done"Esherting explained.

Judge looked around. He had one last chance.

"Okay. In that case, I convict Ingrid Shnellinger for…"

But this time, Frauke stopped him, as she approached him and leaned to his ear.

"Do I have to show your sister what was you doing two days ago, at our class party?"she asked.

He looked at her with fear in the eyes.

"But…But I thought, that there are no photos…"he whispered.

"What photos? Helga was drawing everything from memory!"Frauke explained with sinister smile on her face.

His face then darkened. Gerda can't learn about that party. On which he was drinking too much, although it was forbidden, that he was dancing naked and that he finally puked on her dress, he brought from her room, when she was with her boyfriend on date.

Judge just gave up.

"Okay, everyone are acquitted"he said.

Smiles appeared on Frauke's, Minna's and Ingrid's faces. Judge simply opened his lunch bag and started to eat the sandwich. Then, he turned to recorder.

"Fynn, take care of this what you written there"he ordered.

"But what do I have to do?"recorder asked.

"I don't know. Do, what you want".

Recorder only threw his arms up.

Meanwhile, everyone started to leave the hall. Witches and paratroopers surrounded Minna.

"And we did it!"Frauke exclaimed.

"Yes. Mainly thanks to you"Minna said.

Frauke only threw up her arms, but Minna saw her cheeks changing into red.

"Colonel"headmaster said, stopping next to them.

"Thank you for backing off from accusations"Minna said.

"Everyone needs to know, when to admin error"he said and simply walked away.

"So, what are we going to do now?"Rall asked.

"I don't know. Maybe let's go drink something"Franz proposed.

In that moment, Astrid prodded him with her elbow.

"Something happened?"Erwin asked, seeing this.

"Actually, yes"Franz replied.

He then grabbed Astrid's hand.

"We're couple"he explained.

After hearing this, not only paratroopers, but also Witches, widened their eyes.

"Um, if I can ask"Dorothee started"How long?"

"Three months"Astrid replied.

Meanwhile, Erwin tightened his fists and started to breath heavily.

"How long did you wanted to hide it from us?"he asked.

Astrid scratched back of her head.

"We wanted to tell you but…we didn't knew how you react"She looked at Erwin"And you probably won't believe that I could find someone for myself".

Erwin started to breath more and more calmly, then counted to ten in his mind and looked at them.

"Nah, I would believe you. There will always someone as crazy as you"he stated.

Girl hit his arm. Then, they both laughed.

"Okay then. We're going to bar? We have double occasion to celebrate!"Dora exclaimed"Minna's innocence, Franz and Astrid third anniversary!"

"Actually, we have anniversary tomorrow"Franz said"but it's okay".

And with these words, they went to celebrate this to Bar&Grill.

XXX

 **And third school chapter is done, more are currently work in progress. So, everything I can say, is see ya later!**


	19. Chapter 16

**Now, when the operation to capture Lizing was failure, our heroes were ordered to return to Europe and push further East.**

Saltarski: AAARGH! (throws his riffle into the wall)

 **Man, easy! This room was renewed some time ago!**

Hisako: Sorry. He's just angry that Lizing escaped.

Saltarski: Not angry! JUST FURIOUS!

Shirley: We surely were close.

 **Well. At least, you tried.**

Saltarski: You know? I'm looking for someone who I could unload all this anger on. (looks at me)

 **(sweats nervously) Hehe. Let's go to the review.**

 _ **Linksamaru**_ **:** You can be calm about all of this. Many of these questions will be answered in later parts of story.

 **When it's done, let's get this started, shall we?**

Chapter 16

,,Breaking the Line"

September 17, 2022

20:32

Coalition Forward Operating Base 'Armstrong', 53 kilometers from German border

Helicopter landed on the helipad and it's door opened. Saltarski, Hisako, Adrian, Riley, Shirley, Linchov and Anton exited.

"Finally back home"Hisako said.

"Home. Right"Krystian murmured.

Hisako looked at him. She knew that now, he want to be alone and probably will be planning how to capture Lizing again.

"Don't worry. I'm sure, that we find him again"she said, trying to calm him down.

"I know. And I'm gonna do everything, to make this happen"he provided.

Meanwhile, general Kenesky approached them.

"Everyone are okay?"he asked.

"Yeah"Linchov replied.

"Lizing?"general continued to ask.

"Escaped"Saltarski replied.

General shook his head and sighed.

"Well then. We have more important things to do now"he said.

"Things like?"Linchov asked.

"Follow me".

The six followed general to one of bigger tents, playing role of the briefing room. Inside, they saw a screen with photo of Lizing on it.

"Currently, Lizing landed on our list of most wanted people of the war"Kenesky explained"General Sobczak activated new web of spies, informers and commando units, especially aimed to find him and give this info to us".

"About time"Krystian murmured.

"But now, we have more things to do"general continued.

Image on screen changed. Now, screen showed area of French border with Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy was displayed. Border was marked as a red line, stretching from English Channel to Mediterranean Sea.

"So, what is it?"Adrian asked.

"Command ordered us to enter Germany. But there is one, big problem"Kenesky replied"The Hong Kong Line".

Everyone gave confused looks to him, so he explained:

"Hong Kong Line is a line of fortifications, stretching from English Channel to Mediterranean Sea. It was in building progress since 2020 and they ended it several days ago. Now, it's only thing that stands between us and Rhineland".

"(whistle) So we have some uncool task to do, right?"Anton asked.

But general just shook his head.

"Not you. You deserve some time to rest after all this adventures you had by last days"he said"Others will take care of this".

They quickly saluted and left the tent.

21:01

Hong Kong Line foreground

Chris and Lynette were sent by general Williams to do a scouting mission in foregrounds of Hong Kong Line. They had to walk there by foot, because any sound of engine could turn attention of Chinese sitting in fortified positions. And nobody wanted Chinese to notice them.

The two was slowly moving through the bushes at the edge of nearby forest. It was night and nobody was patrolling the area, but they didn't wanted to risk. In the distance, they were seeing lights of trenches and pillboxes.

"Probably the biggest defense line I've ever seen"Chris stated.

"Me too. So, what do they have there?"Lynette asked.

Chris activated menu of his FIST helmet and changed it into night vision mode. Now, he was seeing everything in the Hong Kong Line. When he looked in that direction, he saw soldiers moving through the trenches and tanks turning their towers, checking the area in front of the Line. It was all decorated with five artillery guns standing behind, on top of the hill on which the lines were based. What surprised Chris, was that there were five lines of trenches at the fortifications. More, than they expected.

"Around five lines of trenches, pillboxes, tanks and artillery at the very end. So in short, we have small chance on breaking through this"Chris stated.

"What do we have to do then?"Lynette asked.

"Let's get back to base. We need to report everything to general Williams".

With his words, they turned around and went back to base.

September 18

12:23

FOB 'Armstrong'

At the morning in base, everyone were preparing for operation to break through the Hong Kong Line. Helicopters were carrying supplies and equipment to units in other base and also preparing to break through. Artillery was towed to their positions, from which they had to start prophylactically shelling the Line to make this job easier.

"All right. Scouts reported, that Chinese have positions here, here and here"said Lari, marking these places on his map.

"And we have to hit where exactly?"Eila asked.

"Everywhere, so it would hurt them. We have to break this line and let our guys just pour inside of it"Yjo said"Should be easy".

"Yeah. But remember, that they can give us the shot back"Aadam reminded.

Yjo looked at him.

"Please, man. Don't break it"he said.

Aadam simply threw up his arms.

"Okay, gentlemen"Lari said and, after looking at Eila, added"And lady. We have to be ready to beat the shit out of these suckers, so let's go prepare everything".

Meanwhile, Panzerbrigade 4 was loading shells inside of their tanks. Thanks to her Super Strength, Barkhorn simply carried four of them without any help. She was giving three of them to rest of her crew and they put shells in storage.

"How many of them left?"she asked, as Ursula took another shell from her.

"Just seven more and ready to go"Ursula replied"Oh, I made a rime".

Barkhorn looked at Platoon 2 of Panzerbrigade 4, which was also loading shells to their tanks. This platoon was commanded by Marseille, which landed in Barkhorn's unit only because other units in Bundeswehr High School had full personnel. And since Paris, Marseille as tank commander, although Barkhorn hardly agreed with that, was doing pretty good and already had twenty one destroyed enemy tanks. What was pretty good score.

Command Platoon, however, was the only Panzerbrigade 4 platoon equipped with Leopard 3s. Other platoons had older, but still effective, Leopard 2A6s. And it was another thing, which Marseille didn't liked.

Together with Marseille were Raisa, their gunner and driver. Driver's name was Jens von Faber-Castell, one of last descendants of House Castell, more precisely, it's Faber-Castel branch, which was now producing stationery. He had light brown hair and dark green eyes. Gunner's name was Kilian Langer, which maybe didn't belonged to still existing line of noble family, but it's said, that he is descendant of House Haugwitz. However, nobody could tell, if it was truth. He had black hair, with spider web shaved in them, and gray eyes.

"I still wonder, how Marseille and Raisa managed to land with one aristocrat and one possible descendant of aristocracy"Barkhorn wondered.

"You see, fate can be really surprising"Michael said.

Ursula and Conny just threw up her arms.

"Okay, just end this loading"Barkhorn said, as she went for more shells.

Camp's shooting range

Kozue and Rin, together with Sadako, Yoshika, Hikari and Shin, were occupying shooting range of the base, where they were testing their accuracy.

"How many you hit?"Kozue asked Rin.

"Seven 10"Rin replied.

"(whistle) Nice. And you?"Kozue turned this question to Witches and Shin.

"Not so good. I scored only 2 highest scores"Hikari replied.

"I got three of them"Sadako said.

"Five"Shin said.

"One"Yoshika said.

Rest looked at her.

"Wow. I though, that you will do better"Rin stated.

"I know, it's just…"Yoshika was looking for good word"Sorry. I'll try to be better".

Kozue approached her.

"You don't have to be worried about it. At the beginning, it was the same with me"she said.

"Really?"Sadako asked.

"Yeah. Kozue was so bad at shooting, that several times, weapon's recoil threw riffle out of her hand"Rin added to it.

Her friend immediately blushed.

"Rinie, don't remind me this, please!"Kozue pleaded.

"What? I thought, that you ant to talk about it"Rin said.

She tried to find any good excuse, but Kozue just closed her mouth.

"Anyway"she turned back to Yoshika"You need to practice more. I'm surprised, that you have such problems with assault riffles, while you was so good with your gun back in your world".

Yoshika threw up her arms.

"Sorry. Assault riffle is surely different"she said"Besides, Neuroi are in much cases big enough to hit them with longer series, without more precise aiming".

"At least, you are still able to hit someone with it. As long as you can do this, you can fight"Rin stated.

Right then, they heard sound of jet engines. When they looked up, they saw Shinigami Squadron, accompanied by five F-2As. They were flying on a mission, to take air superiority for Coalition.

"I hope that they manage to maintain this superiority for us"Rin said.

"Easy. With Sakamoto in command, it's more than sure"Kozue stated.

12:53

German airspace

Shinigami Squadron and F-2As accompanying them were already in German airspace. They had to bombard Chinese field air base and take care of every aircraft that will manage to scramble.

"So, you remember our missions?"Sakamoto asked her wingmen.

"Of course. Nothing can escape from this base"Misaka said.

"Exactly"Sakamoto agreed.

Right then, Etsuko reported:

"Target in sight!"

In place where she was pointing at, they saw several barracks serving as hangars, control tower changed from standard forest ranger tower, radar tower, which was not complete yet as scouts were saying, and the runway. Everything in the middle of the forest.

It was like that, because Chinese built this base as fast as they could, when they learned about Coalition landing in Normandy. All trees were cleared and area was flattened, to make area good for airfield. When you start to lose the war you was winning from it's beginning, you have to do everything to turn the tide back.

"Well then. Fire!"Sakamoto ordered.

All aircraft locked their missiles on and fired

Meanwhile on the ground…

Two Chinese pilots were walking to their planes, to do standard patrol, like everyday over the Hong Kong Line. Suddenly, they heard sound of missiles.

"Dàodǐ shì zěnme huí shì? (What is going on?)"first pilot asked.

As and answer, he received missile hitting one of planes on the second side of runway. Soon after, more missile hit other planes, covering the airfield in fire of explosions.

Then, they saw Coalition planes approaching the base. Some of them started to fly on bombing course and pilots started to run away. But before they could escape far, they were reached by bullets from F-10.

Back in the air…

"Yeah, eat this, Chinese suckers!"Kotaro exclaimed, as he mowed two running pilots with his gun.

One of F-2As fired missile at radar tower, completely destroying it. Shinzo dropped bomb on one of surviving J-10s in the base and used his gun to take care of two more pilots on the ground. Osamu fired his gun at one of hangars and soon, was rewarded with explosion of plane inside.

"And also this!"Etsuko exclaimed.

Her gun was aimed at the control tower. She fired, hitting it's base. Boards, from which it was made, simply broke into little pieces and tower collapsed immediately.

All fighters started to circle over the destroyed airfield, rating everything they did.

"I think that it's enough for our air superiority over the area"Misaka stated.

"Exactly. Let's get back to base"Sakamoto ordered.

All fighters turned around and flew to their airbase.

FOB 'Armstrong'

General Tripomova was doing inspection of Czech forces, both Regulars and Military High School. She already checked artillery, tanks and helicopters. Now, she had to take care of infantry.

She entered Helena's tent, where Helene was doing something, what didn't surprised general. Helena was sitting on her bed and, as always in free time, was writing.

"You just can't spend one day without writing, huh?"Bela asked.

Helena looked at her for two seconds and returned to writing.  
"I wanted to wrap up this first chapter. By the way, I can say the same about you and video games"Helena replied.

General tilted her head.

"Hey, I haven't played video games since we landed in Normandy. I have so many works to do, that I even can't open laptop everywhere I want, just like you"she tried to justify herself.

Helena simply closed text editor and turned the laptop off.

"What do you say now?"she asked.

"Hey, I haven't told you, to stop writing. I just said, what I wanted to say"Bela was still justifying herself.

"Okay, so what you need?"Helena asked, stepping down from the bed.

"I wanted to ask…what do you have ready"Bela replied.

Helena showed her to follow her. The two walked out of the tent and Helena led Bela to place, where several Czech troops were sitting on boxes. Helena whistled and soldiers immediately jumped off of the boxes, stood in the line and saluted.

"General!"they all exclaimed.

"As you can see, everything is ready"Helena stated.

Bela nodded her head.

"And this, is what I wanted to see. Keep up the good work. We're starting at 1530 hours"Bela informed and walked away.

When she was gone, one of soldiers approached Helena.

"She said 1530 hours, right?"he asked.

"Yes. Something's wrong?"Helena replied.

"Actually, yes. There's not such hour"soldier explained.

There was a sound of crack in Helena's head as she heard. She simply palmed her face.

"Tell me. How long are you in our school, Otokar?"she asked.

Otokar simply threw up his arms.

"Since the Defense War"he replied.

"And you still haven't learned, that when commander says, for example, 0200 hours, he mean 02:00?"Helena asked again.

Otokar frowned and then he understood.

"Oooooh! So that what it means!"Otokar exclaimed.

"Yeah, cool, 20 laps"Helena replied.

After she said that, other soldiers, still standing in line, gulped.

"20 laps?"Otokar asked.

"All of you. Around the base"Helena confirmed.

When he understood this, Otokar gulped too. He looked at the rest of his team and saw, as they send unpleasant look to him. Some even reloaded their riffles, to be ready to eliminate Otokar, when necessary.

"I have scoliosis"Otokar tried to not take part in running.

However, Helena's revengeful look made all his hopes gone.

14:11

En route to Hong Kong Line

Convoy of Coalition vehicles was en route to position, from which they have to start breaking the line. Soldiers were sitting in, or on, transporters, tanks, trucks and cars. Convoy consisted of around twenty vehicles.

"So, what's the plan? Just charge with full force and break through, no matter how many will die?"Janos asked, sitting next to Pierre on BTR-80 armor.

"We're not Soviets. We're civilized people"Pierre replied.

"You know, that Linchov would smash your face, if you said this next to him?"Janos asked.

Pierre simply nodded.

Meanwhile, on the second side of convoy, Barkhorn opened her turret hatch and looked around. Tanks from her platoon were behind her. Platoon 2 was separated from Command Platoon with two trucks.

"How is the situation?"Barkhorn asked Shirley, which was sitting on tank turret, behind the commander hatch.

"As you see, it's calm. At now, at least"Shirley replied.

"Hey, Siscon"Marseille's voice sounded in the radio"How long we have to ride on position?"

Barkhorn reached her radio inside the turret and replied.

"First, don't call me Siscon, I tell you for thousands time"Barkhorn pointed out"Seconds, around forty minutes. Then, next forty minutes of waiting on attack signal".

"And what will be this signal?"Marseille asked.

"Cannonade from our artillery on back lines"Shirley replied, instead of Barkhorn.

"Let it be like that. Just don't get destroyed"Platoon 2 commander pointed out.

Barkhorn and Shirley looked at each other. Michael, Will and Tiffany, which were sitting on tank armor next to the tank tower, did the same.

"What made you so care taking, huh?"Barkhorn asked.

"Because, if you die, I would have nobody to call Siscon"Marseille explained.

Next, her laugh came from the second side of radio.

"Okay, okay. Next time, contact me, when you have some useful info. Remember, who is in command here"Barkhorn said, with sinister smile.

"Yadi, yadi, yada. Anyway. Jaguar 1, out"And Marseille disconnected.

"By the way, how she landed as commander of Platoon 2?"Shirley asked.

"I placed her on this position"Barkhorn replied.

Shirley widened her eyes, after hearing that. Barkhorn placing someone on such high position, especially, when she didn't liked, or simply despised someone, was something not expected to be seen everyday.

"You did this, even when she called you Siscon?"Shirley asked again.

"You see, Yeager. We needed Platoon 2 commander as fast, as possible. And because Marseille and Raisa appeared, I had to place one of them. Raisa didn't waned to be commander"Barkhorn explained.

Shirley simply frowned.

In trucks separating two platoons, there also was talk between soldiers. Both Polish and German Nitrosium Heavy Troopers were sitting at back of the truck.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask something"Rall said.

Diana tilted her head and asked:

"What do you need?"

"What does even Quadruple D means?"Witch asked.

"Oh, this?"Diana nodded"It means Diana, Dominika, Daria and Dorota"As she said that, she pointed at her team members.

"That makes sense"Rall agreed.

Next few minutes were completely silent, until finally Dominika said:

"Wanna play 20 questions?"

Rall looked at her soldiers and threw up her arms.

"Why not? How do you play this?"she agreed.

"You need to guess what I'm thinking about, but only with usage of 20 questions max"Dominika explained.

"And trust me, she's good at it"Daria warned.

With simply said:

"Okay, let's start".

"Then, ask first question"Dominika pointed out.

Rall thought about first question and asked:

"Is it big?"

"Yes"Dominika and then added"But also no".

"Is it vehicle?"one of Rall's subordinates asked.

"Yes"Dominika replied again, without adding 'no'.

"It's in this convoy?"another German asked.

"Yes…"

Dominika started to show something resembling fear.

"Is it Humvee?"Rall asked.

"No".

"Is it truck?"

"No".

"Is it Stryker?"

"No".

And then, smile appeared on Rall's face.

"Is it Leopard 3A2?"she asked.

"Yes"Dominika said and hung her head.

Other members of Diana's team looked at Germans.

"What?"one of troopers asked.

"Nobody ever guessed what she was thinking about. You're actually the first ones"Diana explained.

"Oh. Sorry"another soldier said.

"No, no."Dominika stated, looking at them"There always have to be the first time, right?"

Although she said that with calm voice, it could be felt, that she wasn't been thinking like that.

14:49

Back lines

Aadam and Eila lifted the shell and put in the chamber. Next, Lari did his part and gun fired. It was twenty shell from last half an hour.

"Why only we are firing?"Eila asked.

"Because the signal to start the attack will be joint cannonade from all the guns you see here"Lari explained.

Eila looked at the other guns around them. She saw artillery from France, Germany, Japan, Russia, US, UK and other school from their fleet. They were just chilling, while their gun was firing shell after shell.

"You think, that we even managed to score any successful hits?"Witch asked.

Lari rubbed his chin and though about it.

Meanwhile…

Hong Kong Line trench

Two soldiers leaned their heads from the trench, looking on the foreground in front of the line. Already nineteen shells fell on them, from which four hit several pillboxes and two destroyed tanks.

"Hēi. Wǒ rènwéi tāmen tíngle xiàlái (Hey. I think they stopped)"one of them said.

Right when he said that, they heard another explosion, symbolizing cannon fire.

"Nǐ bùdé bù shuō zhège?! (You had to say this?!)"second one exclaimed.

Few seconds later, another shell landed right between them, blowing them out of the trench.

Back at the back lines…

"Who knows?"Lari finally said"Maybe we hit something, maybe we just made some holes in the ground. Who knows?"

Eila simply threw up her arms and helped Aadam in loading another shell.

"Do others even have effective range?"she asked.

"Well. If they not reach the trench, they at least clear minefield in front of the line"Yjo stated, leaning on the gun.

Next, Lari fired again. Shockwave from shot was so big, that Yjo landed with his face in the ground. Everyone immediately started laughing.

"Very funny"Yjo whispered.

15:25

Forest in front of Hong Kong Line

Convoy reached it's starting position and was now waiting for the signal to start the offensive. Trucks and cars were ordered to stay covered by forest, while soldiers, tanks and APCs had to break through.

"Okay, do we have any bigger plan, that just running head on the neck?"Shirley asked, laying on the ground and aiming her gun at the line.

"I told you. Artillery will weak them and then, we start the charge"Barkhorn replied through radio.

Right then, another artillery shell hit the ground in front of them.

"What about that cannonade that had to be our signal?"Janos asked.

"What time is it?"Pierre asked.

Janos looked at the timer in corner of his HUD and replied:

"15:30".

"Good".

Pierre turned on his communicator and said:

"Now".

At the same time…

Hong Kong Line

Two soldiers, which were earlier almost blown up by artillery shell, were now laying inside of pillbox, while Medics were bearing their wounds.

"Wǒmen hěn xìngyùn. Nà ké huì zhà huǐ wǒmen (That shell could blow us up)"first one said.

Suddenly, they heard another artillery firing. This time, more than just one.

"Nǐ bùdé bù shuō zhège?! (You had to say this?!)"his companion exclaimed.

Soon after, the bunker was blown up into pieces by explosive shells.

Back at the tree line…

Coalition troops watched, as the artillery wave shreds the first line of enemy defenses. Everywhere, they saw flying sandbags, concrete from bunkers, body parts, wood from trench reinforces and mud.

"Well. That surely weakened them"Michael stated.

"Okay, so what now?"Pierre asked.

"What do you think?"Barkhorn asked.

Pierre nodded. He turned to his subordinates and nodded to them. They started to move behind tanks and APCs. Americans and Hungarians started to do the same. Soon, everyone was hid behind tank or APC.

"On my mark"Barkhorn said to radio"move!"

Vehicles started to leave the tree line, with soldiers walking right behind them.

And immediately, they were hit by fire from bunkers, machine guns and tanks shells, which fortunately only bounced from the armor.

"Move, move, move!"Janos ordered to his troops.

Cheetah 2 aimed it's gun at one of bunkers and fired, silencing it. Several bullets bounced from it's armor and was almost hit by tank shell, which fortunately landed next to him. Next tanks was hit, but shell bounced from it's armor.

Micheal leaned from behind the tank and sent bullets towards the bunkers, but immediately hid again, as bunker replied.

"Really?"Will asked.

"Sorry. I just had to try"Michael replied.

He tried to lean again, but this time, bullets literally scratched his helmet. Will grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the tank, still moving.

"Damn it, you want to die?"Will asked and added, with whisper"I need to have someone to sleep with".

Michael replied with smile.

"Easy. There are many people that would like to be with you"he replied.

Tiffany and Shirley only watched this conversation, still slowly moving behind the tank.

"Let it go. Boyfriend just cares about it's boyfriend"Tiffany said.

"Sorry, I just don't want to be killed like that"Shirley replied.

Whole inside of tank was shaken by another hit from tank shell.

"Hey, Siscon!"Marseille shouted in radio.

"Don't call me like that!"Barkhorn shouted back, taking the radio"What?"  
"You didn't told me, that this Line have so many defenses!"she exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah?! You didn't saw the line in Argentina!"Barkhorn exclaimed.

Last time, when she met such powerful line, was back during America Libre, when they moved up North the continent. On their way, they med a defense line stretching from Chilean border, all the way to Atlantic coast. During breaking through it, Coalition lost five thousand soldiers, both Regulars and High Schoolers.

"Tell me another day! On your right!"Marseille replied.

Barkhorn looked through her periscope and saw another tank aiming at them.

"On the right!"she shouted to Conny.

"Not fow wong!"Conny shouted back.

Tank tower turned in that direction and Conny aimed at the tank. Fortunately, it was turned with it's side to them, so when girl pressed the trigger, shell pierced through the tank side armor, reaching the hull ammo storage. Tower of ZTZ-99 flew up, blown off the hull by explosion of ammo in the storage.

"And tank is no more!"Michael said, loading another shell.

They already reached first line, the one shredded by artillery, and tanks easily driven over them, while soldiers jumped into the trench and climbed it on the second side of it, like stream of water.

"First line, out. Now, second one"Janos said.

In that moment, artillery guns on top of the hill opened fire.

"Artillery!"one of Hungarians exclaimed.

Barkhorn and Marseille the activated their shields, which protected their tanks from the artillery. Meanwhile, other tanks, APCs and IFVs were all lightly damaged or shells hadn't penetrated their armors.

"Good that it turned out, that Witches can use their shields in such way"Pierre stated.

"True. Good, that Nikka discovered this in Paris"Rall stated.

Her Nitrosium troopers leaned from behind their BTR-80 and aimed their weapons at bunker, which soon after disappeared in ball of fire from explosive shells.

"Can someone take care of these artillery guns?"Marseille asked.

Jaguars 3 and 4 aimed their guns in that direction and fired, hitting two of the guns.

"That's already something"Raisa stated.

Soldiers already reached the second line and some of them jumped to the trench and turned towards the bunkers, to clear them up. Tanks and vehicles, on the other hand, moved forward, still under the machine gun fire.

"Cheetah 2, let's end these guns"Barkhorn ordered to the second tank commander.

They both aimed guns at remaining three guns standing on the top of the hill. Next, they fired causing the to explode.

Additionally, explosion also reached the shells, which were stored next to the three guns. This caused another wave of explosions, which blown up all soldiers on top of the hill. To this, fire from explosion moved the trail of Nitrosium fuel, which was leak out of a barrel. And this, led to another explosion, which destroyed the fuel stored on the top of hill, behind the artillery.

Coalition tank commanders looked through their periscopes and saw giant, blue-whitish explosion, which almost blinded them.

"That was cool"Pierre stated.

"Agree"said Diana, which was next to him.

Next, her troopers leaned and fired their weapons, setting enemy tank on fire. Crew tried to escape, but as they exited, the fire reached them and they also were set on fire.

"Third line!"Michael announced.

Soldiers again entered the trench and turned on both sides, to clear the bunkers.

Shirley, Tiffany and five other soldiers stood on both sides of bunker entrance, as Chinese troops set up in front of entrance and they were unable to enter inside, without getting shot at.

"Tiff, throw a grenade there"Shirley said.

Tiffany reached the grenade and pulled the cotter. Next, she threw it inside.

There was an explosion and flash of light. After that, soldiers entered the bunker and fired in every direction.

"Clear!"O'Malley, one of soldiers, reported.

"Clear!"Tiffany reported.

"Good. Now, let's take care of the rest"Shirley said.

Troops exited the bunker and joined the others, still pushing up the hill. Soldiers from second bunker also cleared theirs and rejoined the uphill push.

Janos leaned from behind the BTR-80 and send some bullets in Chinese direction. Then, he immediately hid back again.

"I think I got one"he stated.

"Are you sure?"his second-in-command said.

Janos turned to look at him. Actually, he never liked Peter. He was too saucy and was almost every time obeying orders. He was good soldier, but bad listener.

"Better focus on taking them down"Janos ordered him.

"Whatever you say, Drawing Boy"Petere replied.

"Stop calling me like that"Janos ordered.

"But you like drawing, aren't you?"

Not having any answer, Janos simply sighed. He had to withstand Peter's talk by just one more year.

"One more year"he whispered.

Few bullets bounced from BTR armor right next to his face. BTR turned it's turret in that direction and simply changed the soldier in the trench into red mist.

"Too close"Janos stated.

Marseille's tank been hit another time and shaken, almost throwing her from her commander seat.

"Damn it! Kilian, send that bastard to hell!"she ordered.

Kilian aimed his gun at enemy tank and fired. Shell pierced through the side armor and tank tower flew up, falling into the trench.

"And he's gone"Kilian stated.

"We're at the fourth line"Jens reported.

Again, they felt that shake, when tank tilted a bit forward, while driving over the trench. Next, soldiers immediately cleared the bunkers.

Seeing, that the situation was hopeless, Chinese started to quickly jump out of the trench, exit bunkers and ran away as fast as they could. Tanks also tried to leave their trenches, but were not so successful, forcing crew to abandon them.

This was used by Coalition, which mowed some escaping enemies with tank, APCs and IFVs weapons.

"Yeah, run away, you scums!"Pierre exclaimed.

Barkhorn reached her radio and turned it on.

"General, we broke through. Some enemies are running, we have to chase them?"she asked.

"Yes. Take care of them"general Strauss ordered"I just got informed, that Japanese and Czechs broken through Sector 2. Others also achieve successes in breaking through enemy defenses".

"Copy that. Barkhorn, out"Barkhorn said and disconnected.

She opened her hatch and looked at soldiers, which gathered around the tank.

"What are the orders now?"Janos asked.

"We have to chase them and don't let them escape"Barkhorn replied.

"Fine with me. Let's follow them then"Michael said.

Troops quickly returned to their APCs and IFVs. Others were simply walking next to vehicles, because trucks and cars were unable to move through trenches. Tanks set up in front and vehicles started to move forward, following the escaping Chinese soldiers.

16:12

Around eight minutes after they broke through, convoy was moving down the forest road. Soldiers were looking in every direction, if Chinese tried to ambush them from the side.

"Any sight of enemy?"Michael asked in radio, sitting inside M2 Bradley.

"Nothing, cap. They're really good in hiding"O'Malley replied.

Marseille and Barkhorn opened their tank hatches and also looked around. Something wasn't

been right.

"Hey, Siscon!"Marseille called her"Where are these Chinese, huh?"

"I have to know?"Barkhorn replied"I though, that they have nowhere to hide from us".

Right when she said that, one of BTRs was pierced by tank shell and exploded. Everyone immediately turned their weapons in the direction, while vehicles stopped.

"Shit, an ambush!"Pierre exclaimed.

Tanks and vehicles started to turn around, with their fronts pointed in direction, from which the shot came, while their passengers started to exit them, or off of them.

Next shot from the woods was not so accurate and shells hit between the vehicles. Some people were hit by chippings, but still managed to fight.

"Girls! You know, what to do!"Diana shouted to her team.

The four left their cover and fired their weapons in that direction. Four Nitrosium filled incendiary shells flew between the trees and soon after, everyone saw flashes of missiles hitting it's target.

"Are they dead?"Daria asked.

"I don't know. Better let's check it out"Michael stated"O'Malley, Will, Higgins. You're going with me".

The four then entered between the trees, following the traces left on trees by both tank shells, as well as HNTs ammo. They were surprised, that tank was able to simply fire through the trees like that.

Not long after that, they entered on a small glade. It was visible, that trees were cut from there and their trunks were later removed, creating a firing position. On the second side of it, they saw corridor between trees, surely made by men.

And in the middle of glade, there was burning tanks, with it's crew bodies sadly hanging from the hatches, also burning.

"Yeah, they surely couldn't survive that"O'Malley stated.

"We're safe now. They're fried like fries"Michael reported.

"Good. Return to the convoy"Barkhorn ordered.

However, this wasn't been so easy. Right when they were about to turn around and come back, they heard a shot and soon, O'Malley was laying on the ground, with hole in back of his head and helmet.

Remaining three ran as fast as they could, to hide behind the trees on the end of glade, from where they came from.

"Johnson, what was that?"Barkhorn asked in radio.

"We got sniper. He got O'Malley"Michael replied.

In the meantime, Barkhorn was looking through opened hatch, with radio in her hand. Hatch was turned in direction of second side of road. This, probably, saved Witch's life, because another shot came from second side and bounced from the hatch.

Barkhorn immediately ducked down into the tower, while soldiers started to change their positions, hiding from the fire from another side.

"Well"Janos said, running from back of BTR to it's front"We now know, where they are".

As he said that, more enemies started to fire, with bullets ricocheting from the trees and bouncing from vehicles armor.

Back with Michael, Will and Higgins, they still were hiding from sniper. Nor of them knew what to do. If they try to lean from behind their covers, sniper will surely hit them and they end like O'Malley.

"Any idea, gentlemen?"Will asked.

"Yeah"Higgins stated"I'm gonna be the bait".

Other two looked at him.

"Bait? You really want to do it?"Michael asked in disbelief.

"We have any other option?"Higgins said back.

Two boys looked at each other.

"You're gonna…"Will said, but Higgins cut him off.

"Die? Whatever. I have nothing to come back to anyway"Higgins replied.

Michael and Will bit their lips. Higgins was from New Orleans and as city was raised with the ground by O.D.I.N., only thing that left after, were ruins and destroyed environment.

"Okay"Michael said"Do, what you have to do".

Higgins nodded and started working. He came out of hiding and started to ran through the glade. Next, everyone heard a shot and Higgins fell on the ground.

Michael saw, where the bullet was coming from and aimed his riffle in that direction. He pulled the trigger and fired. After that, the two saw body falling from the tree over the the tank.

They approached Higgins and O'Malley and only shook their heads.

"Let's get back to the rest"Will said, hearing firefight which was currently going on between convoy and Chinese.

With these words, the two quickly turned and returned to convoy, which was under fire from machine guns.

"I see, that you were not bored"Michael stated.

"You don't say?"Pierre replied.

He leaned and returned fire, immediately hiding again.

"Barkhorn, any idea?"Michael asked via radio.

"One. On my mark"Barkhorn replied.

Tanks then started to turn their towers around. BTRs followed them. Soldiers now knew, what was her plan.

And soon, enemies stopped firing, what meant, that they're reloading.

"Now!"Barkhorn ordered.

Everyone leaned from behind their cover and opened wave of fire themselves. Through flying bullets hitting the trees, they could hear Chinese screams, as bullets broke through the trees and hit someone. Tanks fired their guns, which also caused havoc.

And when they stopped firing, Barkhorn turned to Janos:

"Go investigate, if someone is still alive".

"Got it"Janos replied.

Hungarians left their cover behind BTRs and entered between the trees. Nothing was happening by next few minutes, until Janos finally reported:

"Dead. All".

Barkhorn and others sighed.

"Good. That means, that our job is done, right?"Tiffany asked.

"Yeah. It's done"Barkhorn replied.

However, firefights and explosions still could be heard.

16:38

Hong Kong Line Sector 4

Battle at Sector 4 was probably the hardest. Although they were moving forward, Coalition troops met heavy resistance.

Whole battlefield was opened farm field, with trenches going through all of it, surrounded by forest from all sides. Chinese were using everything they had, only to not let Coalition break through. In the place, where Chinese set up their artillery, now was fire after destroyed guns and it's shells, which set the field on fire.

"Enemy on the left"Nikka said.

Tank tower turned around and fired it's machine gun, mowing down Chinese troops and soon, they were dead.

"Badger 1, how are you doing?"Nikka asked via radio.

After the events of Paris, and death of former Badger 1, Badger 2 was promoted and appointed the new leader of the unit, while Nikka was appointed new Badger 2.

"Good"Badger 1 replied, as another shell ricocheted from his armor.

Badger 1 fired and enemy APC with anti-tank gun was destroyed.

"If it goes like that more, we'll be done before 18:00"Badger 3 stated.

And as he said that, he died.

Strange, blue projectile appeared out of nowhere. It easily pierced through Badger 3's armor, reaching it's ammo storage in back of the tower. Tank exploded, with it's tower flying several meters away from the tank hull.

All tanks and vehicles stopped, not knowing, what just happened. Meanwhile, Chinese soldiers stopped firing and erupted with cheers.

"What is going on?"Nikka asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it"Badger 1 stated.

Soon, he received the answer.

From a fire, that covered part of the farm field, some shapes started to emerge. When they became more visible, everyone saw three tanks entering the battle. But something was strange about them. They resembled ZTZ-99s, but their tank guns were shaped differently, with actually zero caterpillars covers.

"Oh well. I see the answer on our questions"Badger 1 stated and took the radio"Artillery, fire on position 5-3-5-7. We have new enemy tanks and they looks like a beasts".

"Copy that, major Aalto. Fire on the way"artillery commander replied.

Artillery started shelling the position, covering the tanks in cloud of smoke. Coalition troops already started erupting with cheers, but this was immediately stopped. When smoke started to clear out, everyone expected to see destroyed wrecks. However, tanks were standing in the same place, still aiming their guns at them.

"Okay, that wasn't been what I was hoping for"Badger 1 stated.

"Me too"Nikka agreed.

As she said that, the tank in the front started to prepare for fire. When it fired, everyone saw nothing more, than a laser hitting and destroying CV90FIN.

"Wow, that was laser?!"Nikka's gunner shouted in disbelief.

"Why we can't have those?!"her driver asked.

Badger 1 contacted with command:

"General Nutiliaren, we have new type of tanks here! Aimed with laser guns!"

"Say what?!"general replied in disbelief"Laser? Weren't you watching too much since fiction?"

"No! I literally saw as blue laser destroyed one of our tanks and IFV! We need support!"Badger 1 pleaded.

By few seconds, it was quiet on general's side, until she finally spoke again:

"I talked with general Strauss. He sends support".

"Good. We will try to withstand these beasts!"Aalto replied.

New tanks started to scan the area with their towers, looking for new targets, while bunkers and Chinese infantry started to again fire at them.

"Hope they will get there quick"Nikka said.

Back with Sector 1 forces…

Panzerbrigade 4 was already back in with their trucks and cars. Command started sending Regular troops, which had to now take their place and push Chinese back even more.

"Captain Barkhorn?"general Strauss said in radio.

"What is it, general?"Barkhorn asked.

"General Nutiliaren wanted me to send support to Sector 4. They met new type of tanks, which are destroying them and can survive artillery fire. I want you to go there"Strauss explained.

"Of course, Sir"Barkhorn replied and disconnected.

Shirley approached her, when she heard Barkhorn talking to general.

"What is it?"Liberian Witch asked.

"We have to help Finns at Sector 4. Chinese put new type of tanks against them"Barkhorn explained.

Liberian Witch nodded and returned to the rest of her squad.

"We're moving to Sector 4. Chinese decided to test their new toy in field"she explained to Michael.

"What are we waiting for then?"Michael asked and replied"Let's go!"

Soldiers immediately ran to their trucks and transporters. When they were inside, convoy moved in the direction of Sector 4.

Sector 4

Another shot from enemy tank landed next to Nikka's tank. Her tank turned it's tower in that direction and returned fire, however it's made no effect, as the shell deflected from tank armor.

"How do we have to destroy these things?"gunner asked.

"I have to know? I never met anything like that!"loader exclaimed.

Nikka bit her lip. All around her, she was seeing trenches, enemy soldiers running around and bunkers, still firing at them.

"I think I have an idea"Nikka stated.

Her crew looked at her.

"What idea?"driver asked.

"Drive straight into the bunker with full speed"she explained.

Others crew members gave her asking look, but agreed. Driver turned in direction of bunker and started to drive in that direction.

"Badger 2, what are you doing?"Badger 1 asked.

"Clearing these tanks of our way"Witch replied.

"Hang on!"driver said.

He drove tank straight in the bunker, as Nikka ordered. Bunker crew was unable to escape from inside and was crushed by tank caterpillars. The construction was not enough and tank simply driven through it like knife through butter.

"What now?"gunner asked.

"Drive behind the tanks!"Nikka ordered.

Driver turned in that direction and set up behind enemy tanks, which started to turn their towers around. However, it was so slow, that it was hard to estimate, if they really are turning them in Nikka's direction.

Gunner aimed at the back of one of tanks and fired. Shell made the engine explode, eliminating the tank from the fight.

"Badger 1, one tank down!"Nikka reported.

"Good! Can you take care of remaining two?"Badger 1 asked.

"Of course".

They aimed at second tank.

"Can I check something?"gunner asked.

"Of course"Nikka agreed.

Gunner nodded and instead of gun, used coaxial machine gun. Much to everyone's surprise, bullets pierced the back armor as easily, as main gun shell. Just with twenty shots, engine started to burn and tank was out of fight.

"And the last one"loader said.

With that, gunner again used MG and the last tank was eliminated from the battle. Crew quickly started to escape and ran towards the forest on one side of field.

"Yeah, run away!"driver exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Badger 1 and 4 took care of remaining bunkers. Whole area was now dotted with concrete from bunkers and bodies of killed enemies.

"Well. Now, we just need to take care of all these guys, which ran to the forest"Badger 1 said and sighed"It's gonna be a long search".

However, Chinese, which escaped from the battlefield, started to run out of the forest. Soon, trees behind them fell on the ground, with Panzerbrigade 4 and Sector 1 forces appearing behind them.

"Here are our reinforcements"Badger 4 said.

Chinese stood in the middle of farm field and simply lifted their hands up in surrendering gesture.

"I see, that we are a bit late"Michael stated.

"You are a little"Ellen agreed, leaving her cover behind the tank.

"Anyways, good job. Who destroyed the tanks?"Barkhorn asked, exiting her tank.

Nikka's tank then driven next to them and stopped, with Nikka exiting it and standing with the rest. Badger 1 and 4 also exited their tanks.

"She did"Badger 1 said, pointing at Nikka.

Barkhorn looked at her and nodded.

"Turned out, that these tanks have thin back armor. Normal MG bullets can take care of it's engine too"Nikka explained.

"Okay then. If they put them to fight in the future, try to drive behind them"Barkhorn instructed Panzerbrigade 4 tank commanders, which stood behind her.

They saluted and agreed. Even Marseille.

"What about other sectors?"Ellen asked.

"We're breaking through on full line"Michael replied.

"And here comes the end of famous Hong Kong Line"Eevi stated.

Meanwhile, Chinese were still keeping their hands in the air, watching the Coalition troops talking.

Fortunately, one of Chinese knew English:

"Can somebody take care of us?"

"Sure"Eevi replied.

She took some troops and approached them.

"We have trucks waiting behind the forest. Take them there"Shirley said.

Eevi nodded to her and, with her soldiers, took the prisoners.

"What are we going to do now?"Will asked.

"Let's get back to the base. I need to drink something cold"Michael replied, stretching himself.

Others simply nodded their heads. Next, they returned to their vehicles and returned to the base.

18:32

FOB 'Armstrong'

After return to the base, everyone who took part in attack on the line, were replaced by Regulars, which started to push forward. Meanwhile, soldiers in the base were packing everything, to move out towards Germany.

"These Regulars could also take part in this"Marseille stated.

"Regular Armies took care of other parts of the line. We only had sectors from 1 to 5 to break through"Raisa reminded.

"Okay, now it's good"Kilian stated.

They were standing next to their tank, watching troops packing everything. With breaking through the line, they were ordered to move forward into Germany. Command already had several operations to be done, thanks to which they have to secure their superiority in pushing towards Eastern Europe.

"Anyways. Where we have to move now?"Marseille asked.

Jens reached his pocket and took his phone from there. She looked at some information and nodded his head.

"We have to now advance through Germany, to retake Berlin"Jens said.

Raisa prodded Marseille with elbow.

"Hey, Tina, you're gonna see, how Berlin looks in these times"she said.

Kilian looked at her.

"But you're more from Western or Eastern Berlin?"he asked.

"More from Eastern"Marseille replied.

Jens and Kilian looked at each other.

"Yeah. So I warn you, that Eastern Berlin is not as impressive as Western"Jens said.

"What do you mean?"Raisa asked.

"Due to it's communist influence, Eastern Berlin still looks more like a communist city"Kilian explained.

While the four was talking about Berlin, generals Strauss and Nutiliaren called Barkhorn, Nikka and Aalto to their tent. When they entered inside, they saw also Vanda and Orłowski waiting for them too.

"What are they doing here?"Barkhorn asked.

"We were asked to check the wrecks of these tanks"Orłowski said.

"And we're just back from the checking"Vanda added.

The free came up to the table.

"Well then. What do we have, general?"Aalto asked.

Vanda and Orłowski put their notes on the table. On them, everyone could see drafts of these tanks, with it's specifications and technical information.

"According to some of prisoners you took, these tanks are newest ZTZ-99C"Vanda explained.

"This explains, why this tank looked so familiar to me"Aalto said.

"Exactly. They are equipped with newest X2W5 tank gun, which is using Nitrosium powered generator, to fire these blue lasers"Orłowski continued what Vanda said"In other words, China is the first country, to successfully create working combat laser".

"I thought that there are anti-ballistic missile lasers?"Nikka said.

Orłowski tilted his head from left to right, around six times.

"Yeah, there are laser anti-missile shields, but it's a different story. Until now, American warship USS _Ponce_ was the only combat vehicle using laser weapons. Now, Chinese have laser using tanks"he ended.

"In other words, with these tanks, Chinese can give us a good beating"general Strauss stated.

"So when you see them, you have to eliminate them as fast as possible"general Nutiliaren added.

"But wait"Nikka said"Why bullets were so easy coming through it's back armor?"

"Adn why they survived artillery fire?"Aalto sided with her.

Vanda and Orłowski looked at each other.

"These new tanks were designed like that"Orłowski said"To hit hard and withstand being hard hitting".

"Frontal, side and upper armors are designed to be the strongest and actually impenetrable. But, as it showed up, their back armor is different"Vanda explained.

As she said that, she riffled through some notes and stopped, once she reached the draft of tanks back. When they saw, how thin is the back armor, their jaws dropped.

"Just 10mm?"surprised Barkhorn said.

"Exactly. All tanks have weak point on their back, but in this case, is more than a weak point. It's like soldier went into combat without uniform"Orłowski stated.

Three tank commanders looked at each other.

"We will tell this to our crews"Aalto provided.

"Good. They have to know, what are we dealing with"Strauss stated.

When he said that, tank commanders left the tent.

19:53

Chinese European Command, Moscow

Marshal Jin Huong was sitting in his office in Kremlin, reading reports coming from Europe. All of them were bad. Coalition troops were pushing eastward and broke through the Hong Kong Line. Meanwhile, troops, which were cut off when France was fully liberated, started to fall back towards Portugal and were on the edge of capitulation, while Coalition continued Iberian Campaign and just liberated Madrid.

"How could we fall so low?"marshal asked himself.

In that moment, the door opened and one of soldiers entered.

"You have everything I asked you for?"Huong asked, as soldier stood in front of him.

"Of course. Because of our current situation, we moved much of our troops from Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria to Germany. We also moved troops from Sweden to Norway, where Coalition landed three days ago. In other words, we try everything to slow their advance, but…"Soldiers was unable to end.

"But we're still and still moving back, no matter what"Huong ended instead of him.

Soldier nodded. Marshal did the same.

"I hope, that it's ready?"he asked.

"You mean this giant thing we captured two years ago?"soldier replied"Yes. We made every needed repairs, after Coalition charges attached to it damaged some of it's elements".

"Good. I want you to deploy it over Fulda Gap. Coalition will probably now try to recapture Berlin. I want to made a surprise for them"marshal ordered.

Soldier saluted and left the office, leaving smiling marshal.

" _I wonder, how Coalition will react, when their own weapon try to kill them. Especially, the one, which they though they destroyed_ "he thought.

Next, he simply returned to checking the reports.

XXX

 **When the Hong Kong Line is broken, Coalition can now move towards Berlin. But question is, what king of weapon Chinese want to deploy over Fulda Gap?**

Rosman: Maybe it's this…

 **Don't spoiler. I will reveal everything, but in the following chapters. Understood?**

Marseille: Understood.

Raisa: But we're wondering, what is it.

 **You will know what is it. Until then, see y'all!**


	20. Chapter 17

**And here we are again. After Witches broke through Hong Kong Line, next step is to reach Berlin and liberate Germany. However, on the way, they have to take back some important air base in Western Germany.**

Krupinski: Oh, so this is where you sitting.

 **Oh, Krupinski. You're one of several Witches, which hadn't been here. What do you need?**

Krupinski: You see, I lost somewhere my…

 **Wine?**

Krupinski: What? No, no. It's not…

 **Come one, Hikari may believe you but not me. And I saw Linchov walking with bottle of wine lately.**

Krupinski: WHAT?! (runs out of the room)

 **Well. While Krupinski try to take down Linchov, I will go to the story.**

Chapter 17

"Liberating Ramstein"

"Please, Chris"she said"Where are you? I'm scared".

Footsteps appeared, becoming louder and louder as they were closing.

"He's coming"she stated.

Next, he heard her screaming:

"AA! HE'S HERE! AA! RUN! FAST! AAA!"

September 25, 2022

14:21

Town of Bexbach, Germany

"Chris! Chris!"Lynette said, shaking him.

Chris opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed, that he's sitting inside of APC, with Lynette and Karl sitting next to him.

"Oh, hey. Was I sleeping long?"Chris asked.

"No, only half of the way"Karl said.

"And who is Sam?"Lynette asked.

British looked at her with asking look.

"You was telling his name when you was sleeping"Witch explained.

"Right"Chris said"It wasn't 'he', but 'she'. Samantha Erichs, my friend from nursery and primary school".

"Okay. But why you was wriggle so much?"Karl asked.

Chris sighed.

"Old case"he said"When we were twelve, maths teacher raped her. She hanged herself".

After reminding this, Chris hung his head. Lynette saw tears appearing in his eyes, so she hugged him.

"I'm really sorry to hear that"she said.

"You can't change the past, right?"Chris replied.  
"I would like to"Karl whispered.

APC then stopped and it's ramp started to lower.

"Okay, we're on place"Chris said, wiping tears away.

Three soldiers exited the vehicle and looked around. They were passed by soldiers in formation, moving down the street.

Week after breaking through the Hong Kong Line, Coalition started to move into Germany, Benelux and Switzerland. However, Italian part of the line was still holding strong and Chinese were not thinking about leaving their positions.

"If we continue to move as fast as this, we might reach Berlin at the beginning of October"Chris said.

"And then to Moscow?"Lynette asked.

"Exactly".

Meanwhile, Karl was just looking at the town's buildings. Battle ended five hours ago and traces of bullets and rubble of destroyed buildings were still everywhere.

Chris noticed this.

"Hey, Karl"Chris said, putting hand on his shoulder"We throw these suckers out of Germany. Just wait few more weeks".

"I know, but…"Karl tried to say"I'm more worried about dad".

During evacuation of Germany, Karl and Anton's father ordered their mother take Karl with her, while he stays to lead local resistance, as experienced soldier. Of course, she tried to protest, but he said, that he'll be fine. And in that way, Karl and his mother were evacuated. They soon met Anton on FGS _Wilhelm II_ and Karl joined the school.

"You're father survived FRG-GDR War. I'm sure he could handle some Chinese"Chris stated.

"I just hope he's okay. Anton tells me, that dad is kind of man, which not go down easy. I try to believe him, but somehow…"Karl couldn't find matching words.

Lynette and Chris just looked at each other.

"Let's go. We have to meet the others"Chris stated.

With his words, they returned back and walked to the town's square.

14:32

Bexbach Square

On the town's square, Coalition soldiers set up main base of operations and place, where medics and local doctors were taking care of wounded civilians or soldiers. Soldiers were leading prisoners taken during the battle and putting them inside trucks.

"What's the next target?"Lina asked Crystal.

Crystal and Lina were sitting on top of French VBCI and watched everything, what was happening below.

"How do I have to know?"Crystal replied"Generals wants us to continue march East. It's actually only thing I know".

Ellen and Eevi approached them.

"Can we sit there too?"Eevi asked.

"Sure"Crystal replied.

Two Finnish climbed up the armor and sat down next to Crystal and Lina.

"Anyway, you have any plans for the rest of day?"Ellen asked, sitting in Turkish style.

"Not really. I have to disappear with Anton for few minutes later"Crystal replied with smile"But at now, I have no plans".

"Me too"Lina added.

"You think, that we can turn a little into Finland before we reach Moscow?"Eevi asked.

Crystal just threw up her arms.

"It isn't depend on us. We have to see, what command orders"she said.

"Better if they do"Ellen stated.

Eevi nodded, agreeing with her.

In that moment, Chris, Lynette and Karl entered the square.

"So, here we are. What now?"Chris asked.

The other two looked at him with surprise.

"Wait, it was your idea to go here"Lynette noticed.

"I know, but I didn't thought about what to do next"he just threw up his arms.

Meanwhile, Karl looked around in search of Anton. When he didn't found him, he instead noticed Crystal on VCBI. He quickly came up to her, Lina and two Finnish.

"Hey, Karl"Crystal said, coming down to him"You need something?"

"Is there a chance, that you saw Anton somewhere?"Karl asked.

Crystal thought about for a moment and nodded.

"He went somewhere in that direction"she replied, pointing there"With Saltarski, Linchov, James, Pierre and Michael".

"Thanks"Karl replied and returned to Chris and Lynette.

Crystal climbed back on the VCBI and again sat on her place. Lina sent asking look to her.

"What?"Crystal asked.

"Who was that?"Lina asked.

Without covering surprise, Crystal looked at her and noticed, that Ellen and Eevi also have question in their eyes.  
"Really? It was Karl, Anton's brother"she explained.

All three widened their eyes after hearing that.

"Anton has a brother?"Eevi asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. You really didn't knew?"Crystal replied with irony"He was in that hangar back in London, when we presented our FSP uniforms to Witches".

Lina frowned.

"Wait, really?"she asked.

"How couldn't we notice him?"Ellen asked.

Eevi simply threw up her arms. Crystal only shook her head.

"Am I only one responsible here?"she asked herself.

When this conversation was taking place, Chris, Lynette and Karl went there, where Crystal told. There, they saw, what the six boys were doing.

On two walls on opposite sides of road, they painted two white rectangles. Saltarski, Linchov, James, Anton, Pierre and Michael were divided in two teams, with two of them as a goalkeepers.

In that moment, Linchov passed ball to Anton, which tricked Pierre and kicked it straight into the gate, the one where Saltarski was standing. Pole tried to catch the ball, but Anton kicked it so powerful, that he almost lost hand, when he tried to catch the ball.

"And victory, 5:2"Anton announced.

Pierre and Michael approached Saltarski.

"How could you let them score five goals?"Michael asked.

"I told you! I'm not a goalkeeper, but no! You had to place me there, even when I didn't wanted to"Saltarski replied with reproach.

"But if you are so bad goalkeeper, what would you do in the attack?"Pierre asked.

"I'm better in defense"Krystian explained.

In that moment, Anton noticed Chris, Lynette and Karl standing on the edge of their 'field'.

"How long have you been standing here?"Anton asked, taking the ball.

"We just came, to see your victory"Chris replied.

"I could guess you will have the last goal"Karl added, looking at Anton.

Anton smiled. It would not be exaggeration to say, that Anton is best football player in Bundeswehr High School. Many times, when situation looked awful for school's football team, he could pull everything up and lead the team to win. That's why he was granted the captain of school's football team and landed in the gallery of greatest football players in history of the school.

"I always score the final goal"Anton said, walking up to his brother"Anyway, what brings you here?"

"You know. I thought, that as we are almost back home, maybe we should check, if dad is okay?"Karl proposed.

Anton then looked in brother's eyes.

"If we only knew, where he is. And if he's alive"he said.

"I know, but…we can try to find him, right?"Karl pleaded.

Anton was about to answer, but was stopped. Generals Vasiliyev and Bianchi just approached them.

"I see that you're not getting bored"Bianchi stated.

"Oh, Bernd. We can always find something to do"Pierre said.

Swiss general looked at Pierre with irritation.

"Anyway. We need you to discuss some things with us"Vsiliyev took the speech"See you in our tent"He then looked at three younger students"You can go too, if you want".

With these words, they followed Vasiliyev. Only general Bianchi stayed in the same place and stopped Pierre.

"What is it, Sir?"Pierre asked cheerfully.

"Never call me by name publicly"general pointed out.

Pierre simply tilted his head.

"Can do it, Bernd"he said.

General tightened his teeth. He hated his name. He didn't knew why himself, but this name sounded to him like…like simple bullshit.

"Just follow me"Bianchi ordered.

Next, they went to command tent.

14:56

Command tent

Command tent was set up on the town's square, with other tents around. Inside, there was table with maps, radio and stand with UN flag.

The group stood around the table, with generals standing on upper side of it.

"Okay, what is it, Sir?"James asked.

Vasiliyev took the map, which presented the region they now were it. If topographers would see what they left on their way here, the map should change some of it's elevation points.

However, Russian general pointed a point East of their position.

"Ramstein"he explained.

Now, everyone understood, what generals wanted to say to them.

"We have to liberate the base?"Michael asked.

Bianchi nodded.

"This base have big strategic importance, as you probably know"They all nodded"Good. So, plan is simple. We have to liberate Ramstein, to gain air superiority over this area".

Next, he took another map, showing are East of Frankfurt am Main. Michael looked at it and narrowed his eyes.

"Fulda Gap"he said.

Lynette raised her hand.

"Why is this area so important?"she asked.

"Because it can help us in our armored offensive"Barkhorn said, entering the tent.

Everyone looked at her.

"Captain Barkhorn. Good that you arrived"Vasiliyev said.

"Always"Barkhorn provided, then started explaining to Lynette"Fulda Gap was an area between Hesse-Thuringian border and Frankfurt am Main. It contained two corridors of lowlands, through which tanks can easily drive through".

"During the Cold War, Fulda Gap was very strategic location, because it was place, through which Warsaw Pact tanks could launch a surprise attack into West Germany. And it was divided between both Germanys"Saltarski added.

"Thanks"Bianchi replied"As they said, Fulda Gap is perfect place to start an armored offensive. However, thanks to Ramstein, Chinese have full air control over it and can easily bomb us at any moment. If we want to quickly reach Berlin, we first must take control over Ramstein and Gap".

Anton looked at Linchov and Vasiliyev.

"Hope you don't plan to use your Seven Days to River Rhine plan?"he asked.

Russians looked at each other.

"In our situation, Seven Days to River Elbe. And no, we're not going to do it"Vasiliyev replied, trying to hide anger.

"By the way, what is Seven Days to River Rhine plan?"Barkhorn asked Saltarski.

"It was top-secret Soviet military plan of seven days long nuclear war with NATO. Fortunately, it never entered into action"Pole explained.

Witch nodded.

"Anyway. I want you to prepare everything everyone for the action"Bianchi said.

"However, first, we need to do some recon, to know, what does the situation looks like in and around the base"Vasiliyev added.

Swiss general looked at him.

"Exactly. Chinese might have set up defenses around and in nearby towns. We don't know what kind of defenses are they, so someone have to check it out"he explained"So? Somebody willing to do it?"

Without hesitation, Anton raised his hand. Karl immediately followed his older brother. Anton smiled to him.

"Good. You can move out at any minute"Vasiliyev said to them"That's all. You can go".

These words were everything they needed to leave the tent. When they exited, Anton came up to Karl and poked his arm.

"I never expected you to take part in recon mission willingly"Anton said, wrapping his arm around Karl's neck.

"Well. If you do, then I too"Karl replied.

Truly, Karl had other intention in joining the scout party. He wanted to find out if their father is okay and is still in nearby area.

"Anyway, let's go. Better move out as fast as possible"Anton stated.

Karl nodded. With these words, they went to organize a scouting party.

15:54

Near town of Ramstein-Miesenbach

Group of five Fennek armored cars were moving down the road. They didn't met any resistance from Chinese side, but were ready to return fire, if they land in any kind of ambush.

"So, what are we looking for?"driver asked.

"You're asking?"Anton replied from second seat"Any kind of Chinese defenses. If we find out what we're dealing with, retaking Ramstein will be only piece of cake. And now stop".

Driver stopped his car. Four other Fennek's stopped too. Soldiers started to exit it and secure the perimeter around the area.

"Check if there's any strange activity here. And look for any enemies, Walter"Anton ordered.

"On it, Ant"Walter replied, reloading his HK21.

In that moment, Karl approached Anton.

"We have to continue on foot. After that, I hope we find you there all in one piece"Anton said to troops and then to Karl"And if we have any chance, we might look for dad".

Karl looked at Anton with surprise.

"Yeah, I know why you enlisted on this action. We will look for him, when we check the defenses. I promise, bro".

"O-Okay"Karl murmured.

"Let's go"Anton ended.

The two then left the rest of scouting party and went to see enemy defenses.

16:18

Near Ramstein AFB

Twenty four minutes later, Anton and Karl were hiding near Ramstein itself, at the endge of nearby park. Anton took his binoculars and looked at the base. He saw several tanks driving next to the runway, as well as some planes starting for mission. Soldiers and cars were moving around and Chinese transport craft, as well as around five C-17, were parked in the base, waiting for an assignment for them.

"I see that they are still domesticated here. Looks, like they don't even care about frontline closing more and more to them"Anton stated.

"Maybe they think, that still are able to push us back"Karl proposed.

Anton threw up his arms.

"Possible. Pretty possible"He hid his binoculars"Let's get back to the rest. We have to report, what they have there".

Karl nodded.

"I don't think you're going anywhere"someone said behind them.

Next, two boys hear sound of weapon reloading. When they turned around, they saw three men aiming their weapons at them. One was armed with Chinese QBZ-99, second with HK21 and third with M4. They were wearing some old military jackets, but pants were the ones used everyday, not in battle.

"Weapons on the ground. NOW!"first of them ordered.

Boys looked at each other. They had no other choice, but to listen. Actually, they could try to kill them, but who knows, if there's more of them.

"I can't believe this. New Wehrmacht started to recruit fifteen year olds?"second man asked.

"Who knows? They're getting pretty radical lately"third replied.

"We're not…"Anton tried to say, but was cut off.

"SHUT UP!"first man said.

He came up to Anton and hit him with riffle flask in the face.

"Colin, enough!"a powerful voice thundered.

Man which hit Anton looked in the direction of voice. There, he saw a well-built man, dressed in the same style as three other men. He had brown hair and blue eyes. On head, he had a cap.

When Karl and Anton looked at the man, they just couldn't believe, who stands in front of them.

"D…Dad?"Karl said in disbelief.

Three men looked at their leader.

"Klaus, this kid is your son?"Colin asked.

"They both are"Klaus replied.

Colin then looked at Anton. Boy was still massaging the place, where Colin hit him with flask of his riffle.

"Sorry"Colin said, giving his hand to Anton.

Anton took the helpful hand and Colin lifted him up. Immediately regret that, when Anton quickly grabbed his riffle and with full power hit Colin in face.

"Now, we're even"Anton said.

Colin turned back to Klaus.

"Yeah, I now can see, that these are your kids"he stated.

Next, Karl stood up too. And before anyone said anything, he rushed towards his father and hugged him.

"I missed you, dad"Karl whispered.

Klaus returned the hug.

"I also missed you, Karl"he replied.

"Hey, what about me?"Anton asked.

"I would never forget about you"Klaus stated.

Anton came up to them, put his weapon back on the ground and also joined the hugging. Three men just watched it, with some kind of warm inside them.

"Maybe it's enough of these family reunion?"second soldier proposed.

"I haven't seen my sons in two years, Arne"Klaus reminded.

But the three stopped hugging and just stood there, looking at each other. Smiles appeared on their faces.

"Now, we want to know, what was you doing by these two years?"Anton asked.

Klaus simply threw up his arms.

"This, what I told you. Tried to make Chinese life as bad as possible"he replied.

"And what he meant by New Wehrmacht?"Karl asked, pointing at Arne.

Two men looked at each other.

"New Wehrmacht is another resistance group. Somehow, they managed to put their hands on both German and Chinese military equipment and uniforms"Klaus explained.

"But in addition to us, who wants to liberate Germany the way it was before war, New Wehrmacht wants to install military junta on place of previous government"Arne added.

"And they're Neo-Nazis"Colin added.

Anton and Karl looked at each other.

"Great. Neo-Nazis are the only thing we really want"Anton stated with irony.

"From last six month, however, Chinese are more and more good in eliminating them. New Wehrmacht cells near Dresden, Leipzig, Hamburg and Munich were already terminated. Now, they work only around Berlin, Ramstein and Luebeck"third man explained.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?"Colin asked.

Anton looked at him.

"We had to check the defenses of Ramstein and gave them to our commanders. We're preparing to retake the base, to get air superiority over Fulda Gap"he replied.

"And to open our way to Berlin"Karl added.

"Daring plan, I must say"Colin said.

"Exactly. We have more troops waiting on the road to Ramstein-Miesenbach. We had to call them, if we had any trouble"Anton explained.

"And we had our men in that area"Arne added.

There was a moment of silence between two groups.

"So…can we go with you to your base?"Arne asked.

"Arne"Klaus sent unpleasant look to him.

However, Anton shook his head.

"It's okay. We might need some information you have"he said.

"Besides, we can introduce our friends to you. And not only friends"Karl added.

His brother looked at him, knowing who's he talking about.

Klaus thought about it for a moment. He could also use this to find out, what Anton and Karl were doing by these two years.

"Okay. We provide you info about everything we know"Klaus agreed.

"So, let's go then"Anton said.

With his words, the made sure, that nobody will follow them and then, they went to meet with their recons parties.

16:52

Ramstein-Miesenbach road

Back on the road leading to the town, German armored cars were waiting for Karl and Anton. Walter and two other soldiers were playing cards, sitting on the ground.

"You have threes?"one of soldiers asked.

"No, but I have carriage"Walter replied.

"Macao!"second soldier exclaimed.

They all looked at each other.

"Tell me, what are we even playing?"Walter asked.

"I though, that we play poker"first said.

"I though, that we play macao"second added.

Walter looked at them and sighed.

"We can't play cards"he stated.

"I know, man"first agreed.

Second soldier simply nodded his head.

Right then, Anton and Karl appeared on the road. Walter quickly gave his cards to his companions and came up to the two.

"Well. What did you found?"he asked.

"They have some tanks, soldiers and of course aircraft. And we got some support for us"Anton explained.

Walter tilted his head.

"Support?"he asked.

In response, column of five Chinese armored cars appeared on second end of the road. Germans immediately started to load their weapons, hid behind cars and prepare for fight. However, Anton calmed them down:

"Easy, they're our support".

Soldiers looked at him, but then, they saw markings on the cars. German flags were placed in place of Chinese People Liberation Army star.

"Oh"Walter said, when he noticed that"Local resistance?"

"Yes, our dad's team"Anton replied.

Walter looked at him with surprise.

"Wait…Your dad?!"he exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes. I told you several times about him, right?"

In that moment, Walter was dazzled.

"Oh, yeah, true. Now I remember"he said.

Cars stopped next to them and resistance members started to leave them. Soon, two groups were standing with each other.

"So, this is your scouting team?"Klaus asked, standing next to his sons.

"Yeah, dad. And please, meet second lieutenant Walter Ebelling"Anton introduced.

Walter gave his hand to Anton and Karl's father and shook it.

"My son wasn't been too crude for you, right?"Klaus asked.

"No, he wasn't. I prefer to serve under him, that my previous boss"Walter replied.

Next, Klaus again turned to his sons.

"Can we go now?"he asked.

"Of course"Anton replied and turned to others"Okay, people! We're moving back home!"

Without hesitation, soldiers started to board their vehicles.

"You heard him! To cars!"Klaus said to his subordinates.

Resistance fighters did the order exactly like soldiers and soon, all cars had their crews inside. Next, they all drove back to Bexbach.

17:24

Bexbach

Because this time they were driving faster, they reached the town earlier than when they started recon mission. Some soldiers watched five Chinese cars following German vehicles into the town. But when they saw German flags instead of PLA star, they returned to do what they were doing before.

"Welcome to Bexbach, our temporary base of operations"Anton announced, when he, Karl and their father exited the cars.

"I see that you already set up good in there"Klaus stated.

"You see, we have experience since South America"Karl replied.

Klaus looked at him.

"I see that you traveled around the world since I last time saw you two"he stated.

"Oh, dad. So many things happened"Anton added"But we're going to associate you with everything we've been through".

He then started to look around. When he saw Crystal, she was talking with Helena and Natalia, next to BMP-2.

"But first, I want to introduce you to someone, so wait here"Anton said.

Karl, knowing who he was talking about, decided to leave his brother with that.

"Yeah, I have to talk with friends. Be back later"he said.

Next, both he and Anton went in two opposite directions, leaving their father alone. Meanwhile, Klaus looked around. Every soldier in the base was from Military High School, he haven't saw any Regular Trooper. In addition, he saw seven lines of body bags on second side of town's square. He sighed.

" _Sometime, I wonder why these kids risk their lives like that_ "he thought.

Then, Anton returned, but not alone. He was accompanied by blonde haired girl, dressed in French uniform. Klaus had to admin, that she was even pretty.

"Dad"Anton started, when they stood next to him"Let me introduce. Crystal Le Fem, my girlfriend".

Klaus looked at his son, not covering surprise.

"Girlfriend? Honestly, I thought, that you're not good at talking to girls?"he said.

"It was like that when we met"Crystal said"But later, it changed".

"Good to hear it".

Anton looked at Crystal.

"Can you show him, please?"Anton asked.

"Of course"Crystal agreed.

She grabbed her glove and removed it. Next, she showed golden ring on her middle finger.

"We're engaged"she said.

Klaus looked at son with bigger surprise.  
"What? Aren't you happy, that you will get daughter in law?"Anton asked.

"Of course I'm happy"Klaus replied.

He approached Anton and hit his arm.

"And proud of you"he added with smile.

Crystal looked at it with half-closed right eye and tilted head.

"This is how dad shows pride"her fiancee explained.

French simply nodded her head.

"Hey, who is that?"Shirley asked, standing next to them.

"Oh, Shir"Anton said"Please, meet my father, major Klaus Shrauf".

Witch looked at Klaus and saw him, lifting one eyebrow and looking at both Crystal and Shirley. Evidently he was surprised by their similarity to each other and by different uniforms.

"Wait. You're related, or what?"Klaus asked.

"No. Shirley is just Witch from alternate reality, which somehow is my double"Crystal explained.

After hearing this, Klaus was unable to hide his surprise, when he heard that. Now, he started to doubt Crystal's mental health.

But all his doubts were gone, when Shirley activated her familiar and rabbit ears and tail appeared.

"As we said, Witch from alternate reality. And not only she is such Witch. We have more of them"Anton said.

"If you don't mind"Klaus started"Can you explain to me, what is it about these 'Witches'?"

Without hesitation, Anton and Crystal started to explain, of course with Shirley's help, what it all was about. They started from how Witches started arriving, next explaining things about their reality, and how Witches helped in the war, since they joined Military High Schools. Of course, they also took the subject of doubles.

After hearing that, Klaus nodded.

"Okay, so these Witches, come from alternate World War 2, where instead of Nazis, they fight Aliens, right?"he summed.

"Exactly. And as we just said, they are pretty helpful, not only when they fight in the air, like they do often in their world, but on the ground they're as effective"Anton ended.

Once more, they looked at Shirley.

"So, we probably better get used to them"Klaus stated.

"We all already got used"Crystal said.

In that moment, generals Strauss and Sobczak came up to them. The two quickly shook hands with Klaus.

"Good to meet you, major Shrauf"Strauss started"We were positively surprised, when Anton informed us about you".

"Yeah, but I have question"Anton intervened"Where have you been all this time?"

Generals looked at each other.

"I needed to find Sob"Strauss explained"I found him…eventually".

Everyone frowned, don't knowing, what general meant.

"What do you mean by eventually?"

Earlier…

Strauss looked around the base. He couldn't find Sobczak anywhere. And Anton wanted them to meet with commander of local resistance, which also was his father.

"Where the hell is this Pole?"Strauss asked himself.

Then, he heard moans. Moans of pleasure. He looked in the direction, where these moans were coming from and saw, as one of tents. It was tent belonging to Bela. What was happening inside?

He came up to the tent and opened it's entrance. Immediately regret that.

Inside, Bela was pushed against the tent's wall, with Sobczak in front of her, kissing her neck, chest and lips. Only by looking on this, Strauss could guess, that his fellow council members were in middle of 'situation'.

"How is it possible, that you couldn't find girlfriend earlier?"Bela asked.

"Adrian was taking the best ones before I could"Sobczak replied.

Strauss immediately closed the entrance and stood next to the tent. He immediately blushed, after what he just saw.

"What seen, cannot be unseen"Strauss whispered.

Next, he knocked into the stiffened wall of tent. Moans stopped.

"Yes?"Bela's voice came form inside.

"I'm looking for Sob. You saw him somewhere?"Strauss asked.

For a moment, there was silence.

"No. I haven't seen him today"Bela lied.

"When you see him, tell him that I want him to meet with me"Strauss said.

"Of course"the Czech provided.

Several seconds later, Sobczak exited Bella's tent. Polish general almost overturned, when he saw Strauss standing right next to it.

"Having fun with Council member?"the German asked.

"Wait. I can explain…"Sobczak said.

But Strauss stopped him.

"How long?"he asked again.

"A week".

"Shorter than I expected. And I hope, that you don't break her heart?"

"Sure. I'm not Adrian. He's casanova in our team"Sobczak provided.

German general patted his back.

"Man. I'm actually kinda jealous. You got the best girl in the Council"he said.

Sobczak only smiled. Several times he could notice, how Strauss was looking at Bela, so he was sure, that not only he had a crush on her.

"Anyway. Anton informed me, about local resistance fighters, which want to help us"Strauss said and after a while, added"One of them is his father".

Polish general lifted his eyebrow.

"If he has something to tell us, let's listen to him"he stated.

Next, both generals walked on the meeting.

Now…

"Secret"Strauss replied Anton's question.

Once again, everyone frowned. Finally, Anton threw up his arms.

"Let's get this over with"he said.

Strauss nodded in agreement. He signaled to them to follow him. They entered the main tent in the camp, where Strauss stood over the map of nearest area.

"Alright, gentlemen"he said and added, looking at Shirley and Crystal"And ladies. Present here, major Klaus Shrauf, wants to help us in liberating Ramstein. And of course, we accept this help".

Anton's father nodded.

"So, what can you tell us?"Sobczak asked.

Klaus took the map.

"Guessing, that you probably know about enemy armored cars, troops and other things presented at the base"he started.

"Sure, we saw that"Anton said.

"I know. But there surely is thing, you don't know".

Others looked at each other.

"What could it be?"Shirley asked.

"Chinese are prepared for this. Their defenses in base itself look weak by themselves. But they only look like that. Here, here and here"he pointed at several smaller towns around"they have prepared reserve troops that have to enter battle, if something happen".

"This is actually very useful information. We should order forces to take care of these reserves"Sobczak stated.

Strauss nodded.

"Good. Take care of that"he said.

Sobczak then left the tent.

"Coming back. What can you propose in form of help for us?"Strauss asked.

Klaus started counting:

"Our full force consists of 70 men, several armored cars, few captured surface-to-air missiles and one tank".

Soldiers honestly widened their eyes after hearing that.

"You have a tank?"Anton asked.

"One T-72 from Polish arsenal. We captured it around month ago"Klaus replied.

"And only 70 men?"Shirley asked.

Anton's father scratched back of her head.

"We had over 300 men at the beginning. But…But then, we encountered New Wehrmacht"Seeing asking looks of general and girls, he explained"These guys decided to fight not only Chinese, but also other resistance groups. They're Neo-Nazi paramilitary group armed with Bundeswehr and Chinese weapons. Not long ago, they controlled Bavaria, Saxony and few other lands. But Chinese started to really take care of them, pushing them to last cells around Berlin, Luebeck and Ramstein".

"What means, that we can encounter them"Anton summed.

General and girls looked at each other.

"Why aren't you recruit more men?"Crystal asked.

"New Wehrmacht showed people, how they could end, if they won't support them. Don't be surprised, if you see people hanged alongside the streets of towns controlled by them"Klaus explained.

This information shocked them. In several towns they were fighting in, they saw people hanged by Chinese or had to clear the mass graves. But hearing about Germans executing other Germans was something, they weren't been prepared for.

"Anyway. We prepare everything for the battle tomorrow. Let's retake this base and retake our air superiority. We have to reach Moscow as fast, as possible".

Others nodded in agreement. They all left the tent to prepare.

18:32

Somewhere in Bexbach

Resistance fighters stopped their cars in one of town's streets. Colin, as Klaus's second-in-command, was looking at everything.

"I see, that you don't have any troubles"Klaus said, stopping next to them.

Short after, they all were standing in straight line, saluting.

"Ease"Klaus ordered.

"So, what did you managed to get out of this talk?"Colin asked, as he stood next to him.

"We have to help them liberating Ramstein"Klaus replied.

His soldiers looked at him with surprise.

"Wait, wait, wait. We just had to get support. Not to get into their cases"Coling noticed.

Klaus just sent him hard look.

"Colin, I want you to notice one thing. New Wehrmacht wants all of us killed. We're outnumbered, outgunned and we lose men every day. We have no chance in defeating both Chinese and these Neo-Nazis alone. With army, it would be a lot easier"he explained.

This time, Colin had to admin him right.

"Okay. But if these kids will try to piss me off, I don't stop myself"Colin said.

"Just don't kill anyone"Klaus ordered.

Colin nodded. Resistance fighters then returned to doing their own affairs.

September 26

09:21

Bexbach Coalition camp

Camp was alive since the morning, as troops started to prepare equipment and vehicles for liberating the Ramstein. Cars, tanks and soldiers were moving out as fast as it was possible.

Anton and Klaus were looking at it from one of tents.

"So you're already starting?"Klaus asked.

"You see, dad"Anton replied"Our main goal is Moscow. We want to reach it before the winter, because you know".

By few seconds, they were looking at each other. Finally, Anton started laughing and soon was joined by his father.

"I missed your sense of humor"Klaus stated.

"Honestly, everyone told me, that I have the worse sense of humor in school"Anton countered.

Klaus then stood up.

"Anyway. I'll better go prepare everything too"he said.

"Good idea"Anton agreed and stood up too.

Next, they both walked in separate directions.

Karl looked as his father and brother walked to their soldiers. He sighed and hung his head. Chris and Lynette noticed this.

"Hey, Karl. Is everything…cool?"Chris asked.

The German looked at him and immediately turned his head again.  
"You see…dad and Anton were always spending a lot of time with each other"Karl started"This is why I had to mostly spend time with my mom".

"So, you want to say, that dad didn't loved you?"Lynette asked.

"I didn't said that"Karl broke up"Dad always loved both me and Anton, but he spent more time with him than with me. I don't have any regret for that, Anton was first. But…sometimes I feel, that dad don't even notices me".

Chris and Lynette looked at each other. The boy put his hand on Karl's arm.

"It's important, that he knows about your existence and loves you. My sometimes asked mom 'What is that child in our living room?' because he forgot, that James have brother"the British said.

Karl looked at him.

"No kidding"he said.

"Yes, it is"Chris replied"Anyway. Let's go. Ramstein won't liberate itself alone".

The three nodded. They turned away and walked to their transport.

10:11

Near Ramstein-Miesenbach

From one of hills surrounding the town, generals Sobczak, Strauss and Tripomova watched the Ramstein AFB through binoculars. Reports were coming from units commanders, saying, that everything is in place and ready to start the action. Units responsible for delaying enemy reinforcements were also ready to start.

"Linchov, how are you?"Sobczak contacted with him.

"Everything green, general. On your order"Linchov replied.

"Good"general replied and disconnected.

The three looked at each other.

"Colonel Wilcke reported, that her squad is in position too"Strauss said.

"As well as Hela"Bela said.

Sobczak nodded his head.

"I hope they wait on our mark. We don't want to get exposed quick"he said.

Other two nodded. The three of them came up to Fennek they used to get here and looked at the map on it's mask.

"We surrounded the town, so we should hope, that attack from all sides will work out"Bela said.

"We hope so too. Chinese didn't opened any fire, so they surely haven't noticed any of our troops. And let it be like that, until we give the order"Strauss stated.

By few seconds they just stood there, looking at the map. Strauss started to tap a rhythm with his fingers on the mask. Finally, he couldn't stand it:

"Okay, are you planning to tell others about you two?"

Bela immediately paled after hearing Strauss's voice.

"What are you talking about? I don't get it"the Czech said.

Sobczak simply shook his head.

"Stop it. He saw us yesterday"he said.

"Oh"Bela said"Then, yeah. We're going to tell others about it after we take back the base. So you can be calm".

Strauss nodded.  
"Good. I know too many people, who…"

His words were stopped by explosion coming from afar. When they turned around, they saw smoke coming from the town limits. Generals widened their eyes, when they saw that.

Strauss quickly connected with one of unit commanders:

"What the hell are you doing?! You had to wait for our signal!"

"We know!"commander replied. Strauss could hear shots from the second side of communicator"Some guys in our uniforms just appeared from out of nowhere and started shooting at us!"

Strauss looked other generals.

"What are you talking about?"he asked.

"I'm talking about guys wearing our uniforms and using the Third Reich flag!"commander shouted back.

When he heard that, Strauss immediately understood, what just happened.

"Hold them off there! We try to organize some king of help for you!"he ordered.

"Well! Then we're already dead!"

General disconnected and turned around.

"What the hell is going on there?"Bela asked.

"New Wehrmacht. They just attacked us"Strauss replied.

"These Neo-Nazis? They're here?"Sobczak, not covering surprise, asked.

Strauss didn't responded. He simply connected with other team:

"Send someone to Gränst position! They were attacked by New Wehrmacht".

10:17

Ramstein-Miesenbach town limits

Pierre simply listened to the fight sounds coming form the second side of the town. He knew, that if fighting started, it means, that they have to soon join the fight too.

But then, he got call and answered it:

"Send someone on Gränst position! They were attacked by New Wehrmacht!"Strauss shouted on the second side.

"New Wehrmacht? These Neo-Nazis?"Pierre asked.

"The same ones! We're losing men out there!"

"Sure, sir. I'm gonna…"

Pierre didn't ended, because bullet just swift next to his ear. He quickly hid behind his Humvee. Other soldiers followed him and hid form fire. When Pierre leaned from his cover, he saw a Humvee with Third Reich flag on it's antenna.

"Um, sir"Pierre once again connected with Strauss"They found us too".

"Damn it!"Strauss exclaimed"Fight them off and try to break towards Ramstein!"

"Copy that! Wish us luck!"Pierre said.

Next, he disconnected.

Pierre leaned from behind his cover and returned fire. He saw one of New Wehrmacht troops throwing his hands in the air and falling on the ground. By inches he evaded getting shot,as bullet fired at him bounced off Humvee's armor.

"Hans, sent some grenades there!"Pierre ordered to one of his subordinates.

Hans nodded and put finger on riffle mounted grenade launcher trigger. He leaned too and fired at Neo-Nazis. Grenade hit straight into one of them and exploded, killing three more around him. Then, MG mounted on New Wehrmacht's Humvee turned in his direction and opened fire. In the same way, it staged the gunner. Pierre used it and killed him with one, precise shot.

Seeing this, driver and two remaining soldiers started to run away, but Swiss troops managed to still hit them and soon, enemies were laying dead on the ground. Pierre and his troops left their covers and looked at them.

"And they want to rule post-war Germany? Pathetic"Hans said.

"Anywho. We have to move towards Ramstein. Go"Pierre ordered.

Soldiers nodded. They returned to Humvees and turned heir engines on. Soon, two cars passed by the bodies of New Wehrmacht troops and their Humvee.

10:23

Ellen and Eevi moved forward with their troops down the street. Till now, they didn't met any resistance and hoped it to stay like that to the end of battle.

"You see any enemies around?"Ellen asked.

"No, sir"one of soldiers replied.

"Where the hell are they?"Eevi asked.

Suddenly, they heard shots coming from behind nearest turn. They aimed in that direction and were ready to immediately open fire at any Chinese, that try to attack them. However, when two Chinese ran out of there, they were completely panicked. Then, a series from MG made them explode and Chinese, in little pieces, fell on the ground.

"Who just did our job?"Eevi asked.

Response was quicker, than she thought.

Sound of caterpillars could be heard. Soon, the silhouette of Puma appeared and started to turn their attentions on them. Everyone saw the Third Reich flag painted on side of it's tower.

"These Neo-Zanis?"Eevi asked.

Ellen nodded.

"To the buildings!"Ellen ordered.

Soldiers immediately did what she said, as Puma fired it's gun. Bullets threw concrete and dust into the air.

Ellen and Eevi were climbing up the stair on the higher floor. Sound of APC firing it's gun still could be heard from outside.

"You have any idea, how to take it down?"Eevi asked.

"We have rocket launchers, right? Then use them"Ellen replied.

They entered into a room, with two more soldiers, from which one of them was carrying rocket launchers. APC, in the meantime, was shredding the second building, where other soldiers went.

"You know, what to do"Ellen said to rocket soldier.

He nodded and aimed his rocket launcher at the Puma. Soon, the missile was on it's way towards the target and everyone saw the fountain of sparks, as it hit Puma's engine. Enemy troops started to escape the wreck, but Finnish troops didn't let them to.

"Hah! Neo-Nazis! Ridiculous!"Eevi exclaimed.

But her happiness disappeared, when New Wehrmacht troops started to appear on the street and opened fire at them.

"One more rocket!"Ellen ordered.

Rocket soldier nodded. He again loaded his rocket launcher and leaned, ready to fire. However, before he could open fire, bullet hit him straight in face. Ellen and Eevi saw his face explode and it's parts flying around.

"Now what?"Eevi asked.

Not responding on this question, Ellen took the rocket launcher and looked at Eevi.

"Can you do cover fire for me?"she asked.

"Sure"Eevi replied.

She leaned over the window and fired down on the street. Some New Wehrmacht soldiers quickly hid behind Puma's wreck, while others were reached by Eevi's bullets.

Ellen leaned also and aimed her rocket launcher at destroyed Puma. Missile flew in the direction of the APC and hit it in the tower. It reached the ammo storage and made it explode. Explosion reached enemy soldiers standing next to it and soldiers were burned or got hit with parts of tower.

Ellen looked at Eevi with smile.

"And you told me, that rocket launcher training won't be useful for me"Ellen said.

"Okay, I was wrong another time"Eevi agreed"Which one it is?"

"Around nineteenth"Ellen reminded.

Eevi nodded. The two looked at second soldier, which came there with them.

"So, we're going to regroup?"she asked.

"Of course, we do"Ellen replied.

Outside, soldiers already started to come out of the second building and regrouping around destroyed Puma. The three joined them.

"Losses?"Ellen asked.

"Four. And you?"Ellen's third-in-command replied.

"One"she said.

In that moment, Ellen got a call. She answered it.

"What is it?"she asked.

"Where the hell are everyone?!"Linchov exclaimed"We're getting beaten here in Ramstein!"

"You're already there?"Ellen asked.

"Hell yeah! These resistance fighters helped us! But now, we're getting a lot of bullets from Chinese! GET HERE NOW!"

"Okay, wait there. We call someone to come there too".

"Just be fast, damn it!"

After these words, Linchov disconnected.

10:27

Ramstein AFB runway

Linchov leaned from behind BTR-90 and returned fire. It made little effect, as bullets bounced off of ZBD-04 armor. The Russian hid back and looked at Artem and Daria.

"So. Any ideas?"he asked.

"Not really"Artem replied.

"The same here"Daria added.

Linchov simply looked at resistance fighters continuously returning fire and hiding behind their cars.

BTR-90 opened fire and managed to score two hits on Chinese armored car, but was quickly put out of fight by ZBD-04, which bullets managed to penetrate the BTR's tower armor and damage it's firing and tower rotating systems.

"Oh, come on! Really? They use new type of anti-armor bullets or what?"Linchov exclaimed.

"You know, it's 30mm autocannon"Artem reminded.

Linchov simply sent tired look to him.

"Yeah. I forgot because of this giant mess around us"he said.

"Anyway. We have to move forward"Artem stated.

He leaned out and fired his AK-74. He saw two enemies falling onto the ground, so he hid back. Daria did the same as her brother and managed to kill another three enemies. She hid back too.

Linchov turned towards the resistance fighters.

"Hey, you!"he exclaimed, trying to scream through the sounds of explosions and firefight.

"What?!"Klaus shouted back.

"What about this tank you promised to us?"

"Sorry, but it was caught by New Wehrmacht on it's way there!"

The Russian again leaned from behind his cover. His eyes widened in fear, when he saw M1 Abrams rolling down the base's runway in their way.

"That's a pity! Because we have a damn Abrams here!"Linchov exclaimed to resistance leader.

"I don't think T-72 would do much about it!"Klaus replied.

However, they then heard a characteristic noise of Heavy Nitrosium Troopers guns. When they leaned, they saw the Abrams exploding, with it's tower flying up and landing just few meters away from it.

They turned around and saw Finnish and Italian troops approaching their position.

"You finally showed up"Linchov said, as Ellen, Eevi and Lina stood next to him.

"We had troubles on the way"Lina said.

"Well then. Now it's probably the time for us to start taking the base back"Klaus stated, walking up to them.

"Exactly. Let's do it, people!"Linchov ordered.

Soldiers then turned towards the remaining Chinese troops, which were taking defensive positions everywhere they could. Next, they opened fire.

10:43

Hungarian forces chased down a squad of remains New Wehrmacht troops. As it turned out, their force wasn't been big and Coalition and Chinese troops already managed to take care of a big number of them.

"Stop right there!"Janos exclaimed, firing.

New Wehrmacht trooper he fired at fell on the ground, with wound in his leg. Janos stood over him and pulled the trigger. The ground was decorated with red remains of head.

"No more Nazis"he whispered.

Soon, other troops joined him.

"I see, that you really don't like these guys"Victor stated.

"I never liked Nazis. That's all"Janos replied"Better let's take care of the rest of them".

Victor simply threw up his arms.

"As you wish"he said.

Soldiers again started to move forward. On their way, the bypassed several wrecks of Chinese and New Wehrmacht vehicles. They even saw an Leopard 2A5 with Third Reich flag painted on it's armor.

"Wow. New Wehrmacht even have tanks?"Victor shook his head"It explains, why they were able to take care of these other resistance groups".

"Yeah. Anton's father warned us about that"Janos replied.

Right then, a bullet flew between him and Victor, hitting one of their soldiers in face. Hungarians immediately started to duck down and hide behind covers, to not get hit.

"Sniper"Victor stated.

"Good, that you noticed, Victor. I would never guess"Janos replied.

He tried to lean out, but immediately hid back, when bullet passed his head by just two centimeters.

"Okay, I have no idea, how to move forward with it"Janos stated.

"You know what? I have"Victor replied.

He reached for the RPG-7 he was carrying and aimed it at random building. When he pulled the trigger, self-propelled grenade flew forward and exploded, once it collided with the wall. It started to fall down.

And when it happened, Hungarians saw enemy sniper right on the edge of collapsed part of the building. Victor and Janos looked at each other.

"You know, what to do?"Janos asked.

Without hesitating, Victor loaded another missile to the RPG and fired in direction of place he hit before.

New Wehrmacht sniper was hiding behind the part of the wall which didn't collapsed. Now, when they knew his position, he preferred to lean only, when they try to get to him and then, he'll just shoot them.

However, except of sound of boots, he heard a characteristic noise. When he leaned, his eyes widened in fear, as RPG missile flew in his direction, changing him in simple red parts.

"Nice shot, I must say"Janos stated.

"Thanks. At least once, you actually said something good about my actions"Victor replied.

Janos narrowed his eyes.

"Don't think it will happen more often now"he said.

Before he could reply, Janos left the cover and went forward. Victor scoffed.

"Drawing Boy"he whispered.

But he left the cover too and followed Janos, the same as other soldiers.

11:02

Ramstein Air Base

Klaus entered the flight control tower with Colin and two other soldiers. Tower's crew immediately looked in their direction, but were unable to do anything, as series from riffles cleared the room.

"Control tower secured"Klaus reported to Strauss.

"Copy that. Continue to take control over the base"Strauss simply replied.

Soldiers started to come to bodies, which fell on some consoles and started to put them down on the floor. Klaus came to the main console and looked at the radar. It was clear.

"I wonder, if they called air support…"he asked himself.

"Hey, Klaus!"Colin exclaimed"This one's still alive!"

He turned around to see his 2IC standing over Chinese flight controller, holding his arm with hand. He came up to him and knelt.

"Hey"Klaus started"You know German?"

Controller nodded.

"Well then. Tell us. Did you called any kind of air support?"Klaus asked.

"No"controller replied, a bit confused.

"Good"he nodded.

Next, he reached for his gun, pointed it and terrified controller and pulled the trigger.

"Well. We don't have to be worried about bombardment then"Klaus stated.

Right then, he got call on the radio.

"What is it?"he asked.

"We just cleared the last barrack"Linchov reported"Others don't report anymore Chinese or New Wehrmacht around".

"New Wehrmacht is gone too?"Klaus asked.

"Yeah. Saltarski just told me, that his troops eliminated last squad of them"he explained.

Klaus nodded.

"Good. Report it to your generals"he proposed.

"Already done it, Mr. Shrauf"Linchov replied"Damn, I need to get used to you being Anton's father".

"Better start getting used"Klaus replied and disconnected.

"So, how is it?"Colin asked.

Anton's father simply threw up his arms.

"We just took back the town and base"he replied.

"Okay then"one of soldiers said"So we can now advance towards Berlin".

"But this later. Now, let's meet with others"Klaus ordered.

Soldiers and Colin nodded, after which they left the control tower.

14:12

Ramstein AFB

Shinigami, De Gaul and Jäger squadrons just landed in the base and started to tax to their hangars. When their fighters stopped, everyone started to get out of them.

"Welcome to the Ramstein Air Base, one of biggest American bases in Europe"Florian announced.

"Honestly, I imagined this base somewhat…bigger"Erica said.

Florian looked at her. Next, at the base and shook his head.

"Damn, now when you said that…It actually look small now"he stated.

Meanwhile, Minna approached them and stood next to Mio.

"Good to see you there"she said.

"I could say the same about you"Sakamoto replied"And how was your mission with distracting reserve forces?"

Minna threw up her arms.

"Could be worse. Dorothee got one hit in her arm, but Yoshika took care of this. Except of that, there were no more wounds"she replied.

Sakamoto nodded. Next, she turned to her pilots.

"Okay, you have free time. But when they call us, you all have to be in full readiness"she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!"Shinigami Squadron members replied.

They all then walked away, including De Gaul and Jäger. Sakamoto and Minna walked in opposite direction.

"So, when do we have to start the operation?"Fusoan Witch asked.

"Generals said, that in next week everything is gonna be prepared. You have to gain control of Fulda Gap"Minna replied.

"Tell me something I don't know".

Minna narrowed her eyes.

"Chinese surely strengthen their air power to stop you"she replied.

Sakamoto nodded.

"Okay. We dealt with bigger threats"she replied.

Her commander shook her head.

"Sometimes I think, that you like danger too much".

"That's how I'm".

Meanwhile…

14:15

Fulda Gap's airspace

Five Chinese F-16 were flying over the gap, checking if it's ready to face Coalition air offensive. These little passages were key to stop them from advancing towards Berlin and liberating it. Command wanted everything to be prepared perfectly and this is what was happening right now.

"Hey, boss"one of pilots asked their commander"You think we can stop Coalition here?"

"If not, then we have no way to protect Berlin"commander replied.

"Yeah"another pilot said"I wonder, when we get this support command told us about".

Commander sighed. He was flying for PLAAF since the war began. Many times he landed in situations, when support was needed. And he knew one thing: when command tell that, that they sent support, they won't do it. This is why he always had to go out of situations like that alone.

"Probably never"he said straight"We can try to protect this passages, but if Coalition managed to get so close, they won't stop. Eh. We can try, but don't think, that we stop them".

Silence hung in the air between the five aircraft.

"We can try"third pilot said.

"Yeah, we can. But don't count on much more".

Right then, everyone got radar spikes. When they looked on them, they saw a giant aircraft marked as Coalition.

"Shit, already?!"commander exclaimed"Prepare for combat!"

But when he said it, he got call from the tower:

"To all pilots over Fulda Gap! Don't fire! I'm repeat: don't fire!"

"Why?"commander asked"It's marked as enemy!"

"I know, but we didn't managed to install our IFF signal to it's system, but we have control over it. It's your support".

Commander honestly widened his eyes. He really didn't expected to get any support.

"Well. That's the support I'm talking about"fourth pilot said.

When commander looked in the direction of the enemy signal, his jaw dropped, seeing the massive, enormous white shape.

XXX

 **Well, Ramstein is liberated and can now serve as doorstep for operation to take control of Fulda Gap's airspace.**

Natalia: But what is this thing that have to support Chinese?

Lina: Is it…?

 **Don't spoiler! Everything is gonna be revealed! You don't want to break the surprise, right?**

Natalia and Lina: (shook their heads)

 **Good. Because the mission to take control of Fulda Gap's airspace is gonna happen in next chapter. Until that, see ya!**

Natalia: Bye!

Lina: Yo!


	21. Chapter 18

**When Ramstein base is liberated, it's time for Coalition to gain their dreamed air superiority over Fulda Gap.**

Misaka: But if this task will be so easy?

 **Hey, it's my line!**

Sakamoto: Sorry, but sometimes, change is needed.

 **Yeah, right. Anyway. Are you ready for the mission?**

Kotaro: Always! You think we wouldn't be ready?

 **Alrighty then. I also wanted to inform, that new guests will appear.**

Osamu: Really? Who?

 **Wait a moment. First things first. Let's get it started.**

Chapter 18

,,Fulda Gap air offensive"

September 29, 2022

09:42

Ramstein Air Force Base, Hangar 1

Three days after liberating the base, Coalition already filled it with their planes to it's limits. Ground forces were brought too, so the offensive could start just when air superiority will be gained.

"Plan is simple"Sakamoto said to Shinigami Squadron members"We have to shot down every enemy, which we see. Air superiority is our top priority".

Shinzo smiled.

"What is it?"Witch asked him.

"Nothing. I like, when people rhyme"Shinzo replied.

Sakamoto blinked. She then understood, that she really made rhyme.

"Anyway"she said"better get prepared. This mission have to open our way towards Berlin. Next, to Moscow".

"And kick these suckers out of Europe!"Kotaro added.

Others laughed, seeing his never ending enthusiasm. He was the youngest of them and sometimes it was fun for them to look at Kotaro.

In second hangar, similar conversation was taking place, as Charles was debriefing his team. He looked at them one more time.

"Okay, people"Charles started"As always, the same tactics. First, don't get shot down. Second, make everything possible to shot down enemies".

"I always like the simple plans of yours"Henri stated.

"Thanks"Charles said to him.

"But what about enemies there?"Laura asked.

"Good you're asking, sis"Charles replied"According to our scouts, Chinese are making everyday patrols over the area, including normal fighters, but also drones. Everything, that can possibly shot you down, melt you down or torn you apart".

"In short, there are a shit a lot of them"Saddam summed.

Charles nodded.

"But I hope, that we can count on your thunders, right?"Laura asked Perrine.

"Of course"Perrine replied"I'll try to use everytime I would have the opportunity".

"Good. We want to make them uncool surprise, when they try to attack us"Charles said to her.

In that moment, Janette lifted her hand.

"What is it, Janette?"Charles asked.

"What about that giant thing radars picked up yesterday?"she asked.

Everyone in the hangar fell silent. Yesterday, radars detected something big over Fulda Gap. News spread quickly and soon, everyone were talking about it. However, not everyone believed it to be something dangerous.

Like Charles, for example.

"Probably it was just a giant swarm of birds. Because how China could even build some big aircraft?"he asked.

"Americans managed to build two"Saddam pointed out.

But Charles just waved his hand.

"But both were destroyed"he said"Anyway. I want you to start preparing for action. Let's gain this air superiority for us".

Knowing, that it mean the end of talking, everyone went to prepare their aircraft for operation.

In the same time, when Shinigami and De Gaul squadrons were preparing for action, Jäger Squadron members were…racing. They started at one end of runway and currently, they already ran through half of it. Erica was leading.

"I'm gonna win this, you see!"she exclaimed to Florian and Luca, which were behind her. Markus fell out of race in ¼ of the runway.

"We're…gonna…see!"Florian replied, trying to catch breath.

In that moment, he tripped and fell on the ground. Now, only Erica and Luca were competing.

"Ha! Told you!"Erica exclaimed to Florian.

But her ambitions were brutally suppressed by a hand, which hit her chest and made Erica fall on the ground.

Barkhorn then stood over her, with unpleasant look.

"Shouldn't you prepare for your part of work?"she asked.

"Trude! I almost won!"Erica wined.

"But isn't the incoming battle more important, that your little races?"Barkhorn pressed more"You need to have enough power, to not fell asleep during flight and to not get shot down. Or crash".

"Where did it came to your mind from?"Florian, which approached them, asked.

Barkhorn sent look to him.

"I saw many pilots, which ended up like that"she replied.

"But hey!"Luca joined"We're fresh and ready for everything Chinese could throw at us!"

To show, that he's not lying, he jumped up and made a turned around by 360 degree and landed where he stood. Barkhorn was truly impressed by this.

"Where did you learned this?"she asked.

"You see, I was always interested in parkour. I even took part in parkour contest organized in my town. I was the youngest among contestants"Luca explained"I won the first place".

In that moment, Markus joined them. He looked at Barkhorn standing over Erica laying on the ground.

"What have I missed?"he asked.

Florian patted his backs.

"Nothing really, buddy"he said"Nothing really".

Luca joined them and the three went to their hangar. Meanwhile, Barkhorn helped Erica to stand up again.

"Next time, I will simply give you this hit back"Erica promised.

"Keep you by word"Barkhorn said.

Next, they walked in separate directions.

10:03

Fulda Gap airspace

Single U2 spy plane was flying over the Fulda Gap, looking for enemy ground defenses. However, when he flew there, he saw nothing more, than he saw the last time.

"Hawk-1, what have you found?"Ramstein tower asked.

"Nothing, Ramstein. Everything looks like yesterday, over"U2 pilot replied.

"Copy that. If something changes, inform us"tower ordered and disconnected.

Pilot scoffed.

"If something changes. Right"he whispered.

He joined the military to fight Chinese. That's why he enlisted into air force. To fight for America. To fly under the sky. And to help people.

Instead of that, he landed as pilot of boring spy plane, which never could find anything. Sometimes, he wanted to just be shot down.

And his wish would probably be now answered, as he got missile lock.

"Damn it!"

He tried to make any meaningful evasion, however it was just too hard in the spy plane. Fortunately, the missiles passed by him.

"Phew, that was close"he said.

But then, he saw something, which scared him to his deepest core.

Enormous white shape was simply sliding through the air. In comparison with it, U2 looked like a simple fly.

"God…"was everything he could said.

Right then, he saw, as something starts to fall off from giant aircraft's wings. When he understood, that they were drones, it was too late. He landed between the lines of fire of tens of drones.

He didn't even noticed his death.

10:24

Back in Ramstein, briefing room

Inside the briefing room, pilots which had to take part in the operation were sitting. Coalition base commander entered the podium and looked at them.

"Welcome everyone. This is our mission"he said.

The screen turned on, showing the Fulda Gap topographical photo. Among the brown color symbolizing highlands, green corridors of lowlands could be seen. Chinese AA and SAM positions were marked in red, as well as enemy aircraft.

"We have to clear way for our ground forces to get through the gap with as little resistance as possible. But you probably know it"commander said.

Everyone nodded.

"Good"he said"Chinese know as well as we do, why Fulda Gap is so important for us. They will try everything to stop us from crossing it, so I want you to be prepared for every eventuality".

In that moment, Kotaro raised his hand.

"Yes?"commander asked.

"What do we have to do, if we run into some kind of Chinese ambush?"Kotaro asked.

"Easy, we'll be having second group on standby for such eventuality"commander replied.

Kotaro nodded.

"You'll be divided into three groups: South, Middle and North"Next, the symbols of squadrons appeared on the screen"Group South will be De Gaul, Battledog and Jester squadrons. Group North is Jäger, Owl and Foxhound squadrons. And group Middle would be Shinigami, Falcon and Heavy Horses squadrons. Squadrons Zimushka, Sword and Corsica will be on standby, if you land in enemy trap. Plan is like that. Group Middle will enter the airspace and try to tie enemy forces with fight. Then, groups South and North will strike, cutting the enemy escape routes"As he was saying it, everything was shown on the screen.

All pilots nodded.

"This can work"Florian stated.

"But what about this giant thing noticed by our radars?"someone from Foxhound Squadron asked.

There was a moment of silence, before base commander waved his hand.

"Nah. I'm sure these were only giant groups of birds clustered together"he said.

"Told them"Charles agreed.

"Anyway. I want you to be airborne in next half an hour. Oh, and one more thing. Today, a new general arrives. He have to help coordinate the Berlin offensive. That's all now. Dismissed".

With these words said, everyone started to leave the briefing room.

Ramstein AFB runway

Pilots started to enter their planes, while ground crews were doing last preparations in form of rearming and refueling. Some planes already taxied on the runway and taken off.

Minna approached Skamoto's Shinshin. Shinigami leader was now checking last instruments, while last missiles were attached to wings and aircraft's body. The fuel cistern just been pulled away from the plane.

"Just look out out there, understood?"Minna ordered to Mio.

"Understood. We're gonna take care of this quickly and we'll be back for dinner"Mio replied, checking her gun ammo status.

"Good. I want to see you in one piece".

Fusoan nodded. Next, one of ground crews showed thumb up and released the fighter's wheel blockade. Sakamoto put on her helmet and closed canopy. Then, she started to taxi towards the runway, with her squadron following her.

When they arrived on the runway, a squadron of F-16s with Polish markings was just preparing for take off.

"Hey, Mio. Let's try to find out, who can shoot down more of them"Etsuko proposed.

"Maybe another time. For now, we have to get the air superiority"Mio replied.

"Whatever you say, Maj"Osamu said.

'Maj' was simply the shortened word 'major', used by Shinigami Squadron members as Mio's nickname.

However, a different thing caught Sakamoto's eye. It was a pile of smoke coming from C-17, which was just trying to make touchdown.

In the same moment, she heard in her communicator:

"Everyone on he runway! Make way, I'm repeat, make way!"

Polish F-16s then turned on both sides of the runway, making more place for C-17. However, transport started to tilt left and soon, it's wing hit the ground and broke, while the rest of machine flew forward, until it crashed into the ground and changed into the pile of burning parts.

"We've got crash! I'm repeat: we've got crash!"tower exclaimed.

Pilots opened their canopies and threw down their helmets, while jumping out of cockpits of their planes. They ran towards the crashed C-17, followed by the fire brigade brought to the base. They stood around the wreck, while fire brigade started to extinguish the flame.

"Damn it. That was this new general"Jester Squadron member said.

"Well. This is interesting start of mission"Misaka stated.

"I know"Mio agreed"It means, that we have to get to work".

Shinigami Squadron members then ran back towards their planes. They quickly jumped inside and closed the canopies.

"Tower, asking for permission to start"Sakamoto asked.

"Permission granted"tower replied"Make them pay for that".

"Of course we do"Witch replied.

F-10s started to go down the runway, until they finally lifted up and hid their landing gear. They got one more message from the tower:

"Good hunting".

Mio nodded. Next, the squadron flew towards Fulda Gap.

10:31

Fulda Gap's airspace

Although the case with destroyed C-17, Falcon and Heavy Horses squadrons managed to scramble too and soon, they joined the Shinigami. Other squadron, which had to take part in the operation, also reported that their battle ready and in the air.

"Any signs of the enemy?"Mio asked.

"Negative"Shinzo replied"Radar still is clear as hell".

Witch looked around the area, looking for any enemy fighters. However, none was seen around.

"Where are you?"she whispered.

"Where are you!"Kotaro exclaimed.

Others looked in his direction.

"Calm down, Kotaro. You should be focused on the fight"Misaka pointed out.

"I'm focused!"he replied with reproach.

Misaka turned frequency on a closed channel with Sakamoto.

"Sorry"she said.

"I was wondering…"Mio said"Why is Kotaro so impatient when it comes to fighting?"

There was a short silence on the second side. Then, there was a sight.

"You see, the thing is…Well, you know we're cousins?"

"Yeah"Mio replied.

"Well then. My aunt and uncle, with Kotaro, lived in Nagoya. When Chinese invaded, Nagoya found itself under the heaviest bombardment in Japan's history. His parents died during that time"Misaka explained.

Witch bit her lip.

"Sorry to hear that"she said.

"I know. However, SAR teams found him and evacuated to Yokohama. There, he found us. He decided to join the MHS to avenge his parents".

"But you're doing good in taking care of him?"

"Sure. It's good, but you know how it is, when it comes to battle".

Sakamoto nodded.

Right then, their cockpits were filled with the missiles warnings. Without hesitation, all planes dropped flares and eliminated the danger.

"Where is this coming from?"Falcon 1 asked.

"I don't know!"Heavy Horse 1 replied.

But Sakamoto already knew, what's going on.

"Enemy is using Stealth aircraft! Try to find them!"she ordered.

All Coalition aircraft turned, trying to find enemy fighters. The situation with missiles repeated two more times, again without losses.

"I found it!"Etsuko exclaimed.

Soon, some other pilots also reported detection of Chinese Stealth aircraft. Several even locked onto them.

"Okay then. Let's show them, what Coalition is capable of"Sakamoto ordered"Fox 3!"

Shinigami Squadron fired their missiles and watched them fly towards Chinese aircraft. Explosions in the air marked hits. It was confirmed by dots on radars disappearing.

"Got some"Falcon 4 said.

"Well then. Let's finish them now"Sakamoto ordered.

Fighters flew towards the enemy formations. When they caught up with them, they saw several squadrons of F-22s and J-20s.

"Oh, irony. We have to fight American Stealth fighters"Osamu stated.

"But we also have Chinese Stealth here"Shinzo noticed.

"At least, not the Russian ones"Misaka added.

She then dropped behind F-22 and fired her gun. Bullets penetrated the armor and lighted up the fuel tank, changing the fighter in ball of fire. Shinzo fired his gun at J-20, hitting it's cockpit and obliterating the pilot, which changed into red mist.

"Easy. At least, till now"Shinzo stated.

Mio changed frequency and contacted Florian and Charles:

"How is it on your side?"

"Going sweet and jazzy!"Florian replied.

"We're currently shooting down Chinese F-16 trying to get to you"Charles said"What about you?"

"We're engaging Chinese Stealth aircraft. We can handle it"Sakamoto replied.

"Good luck out there!"

After these words, two squadron leaders disconnected.

Sakamoto dropped behind J-20 and shredded it's back stabilizers with gun. Plane started to spin and go down. Next, she moved to nearest F-22 and her bullets managed to make it's engines explode and change into one giant fireball. Kotaro caught J-20 with his gun and shredded it. F-22 tried to land behind him and do the same with him. But Misaka was faster and saved his cousin, by firing her gun at Raptor's back.

"Everything okay, Kotaro?"she asked.

"Yeah. Thanks"Kotaro replied.

And immediately turned towards another enemy.

Falcon 2 and Heavy Horse 6 'sandwiched' the F-22 and quickly evaded fire of J-20s, which aimed at them. One of J-20 sat on Falcon 3's tail and fired his gun at him. Falcon 3 tried to do Aileron Roll, but J-20 was still following him, until eventually scored hit.

"I'm hit, I'm hit!"Falcon 3 exclaimed"I'm gonna…AAAGH!"

Falcon 3's Mirage 2000 exploded, sending his burning wreck towards the ground.

"We've just lost Falcon 3"Falcon 1 reported.

"Damn it. Cover each other!"Sakamoto ordered.

J-20 landed behind her and fired it's gun, scoring several hits. Sakamoto performed Cobra and now was behind Chinese pilot and replied with gunfire. J-20 ended as ball of fire.

"We're winning this!"Osamu exclaimed.

Suddenly, his radar started to act weird. He hit it, but this made nothing to him.

"Hey, my radar is going crazy"he reported.

"You checked it today?"Etsuko asked.

"Yeah, five times"Osamu replied.

Right then, Etsuko's radar also started to act the same. Soon, all pilots started to report the same thing.

"What the hell?"Sakamoto asked.

In that moment, her eye caught a small blue flash on the edge of her eyesight. Actually, not only she saw it.

"You saw that blue light?"Misaka asked.

"Yes, we do"Kotaro replied.

Sakamoto lifted her helmet's eye cover and lifted her eye patch, then looked in that direction. What she saw, probably would make her drop jaw, if not the oxygen mask.

"No fucking way…"she whispered.

SW Universe

September 29, 1945

10:23

Romagna airspace

504th Joint Fighter Wing 'Ardor Witches' were on high alert for past few months. Since the disappearance of Strike Witches, they were the only Witches protecting Romagna and Venezia from Neuroi attacks and there was no single day, without any combat mission.

Currently, they were tracking a Medium-Type Neuroi, which was seen over Champagne. This Neuroi bombed a convoy carrying ammunition to the Balkans.

"Anything?"Federica asked her Witches.

"Not yet"Patricia replied.

"Command told us, that it's supposed to be somewhere in this area, so it should be there"Takei stated"Keep looking".

However, this wasn't been needed, as it was Neuroi who found them.

Suddenly they all saw red lasers coming from a far and immediately activated shields, deflecting the lasers in all directions. Soon, the Neuroi came into view.

"Oh, there it is"Martina stated.

"You don't say?"Angela shot back.

"Anyway. Ardor Witches, engage!"Federica ordered.

With this order, all Witches flew towards the Neuroi. When they found themselves in firing range, they opened fire, scoring several hits. But Neuroi's armor immediately started to heal, leaving no traces of hits.

"Fernandia, Luciana, Martina! Turn his attention! Dominica, Jane, Patricia! Attack him from above! Rest, try to do the biggest hole in it, so Angela can take out the core!"Federica ordered.

"On it!"Takei replied.

Everyone immediately came to doing the plan and soon, Neuroi was overwhelmed by fired. It managed to fire lasers, but Witches deflected them again. Holes in the armor were becoming bigger and bigger, as Neuroi was armored only in half.

"Angela, now!"Federica exclaimed.

Hispanian Witch aimed her PzB39 at the core and fired, piercing it. Soon, Neuroi exploded into multiple white shards.

All Witches med under the falling shards.

"Well. Great job girls"Federica said"Amaki, contact command and tell them…"

Before Federica could end, something happened. All Witches were suddenly blinded by a blue light. An light orb appeared in the air. And started to become bigger and bigger.

"What is it?!"Patricia exclaimed.

"I don't know! But hang on!"Takei said.

When she said that, orb was big enough to absorb them.

Later…

Witches started to open their eyes and looked around. Much to their surprise, they discovered, that they are surely not over Romagna anymore.

"What just happened?"Dominica asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it"Fernandia stated.

"Fulda Gap!"Jan suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone looked at her. This was rare for this shy and often backed off girl to erupt like that. When she noticed, that all eyes are turned at her, she became herself again.

"I…I mean, in Liberion, I was interested in geography. You probably know I can say name of every geographic land in Europe?"she asked.

They nodded.

"Well. Fulda Gap is in Karlsland"Jane explained.

When she said that, everyone widened their eyes.

"Karlsland?! We landed in middle of Neuroi occupied territory?!"Luciana exclaimed.

"Calm down, I'm sure we can figure out what's happening here"Martina tried to calm her friend down.

"Exactly, we just need to think about it"unknown voice said.

All 504th Witches turned around, to see the voice owner. It was another Witch, but they were sure she wasn't been from their JFW.

"Sorry, but who are you?"Angela asked.

Witch corrected her hat and replied:

"Sergeant Wilma Bishop, Isle of Wight Detachment Group".

"So you're from Britannia?"Nishiki asked.

Wilma nodded.

"Then how you landed here?"Dominica asked.

"I was on patrol. Suddenly, a blue orb of light appeared and I landed here with you"Wilma explained.

All Ardor Witches looked at each other.

"The same was with us"Federica said.

"Okay, when we know each other, we need to now find out, what is going on in there"Takei stated.

However, she then heard a strange sound. All Witches suddenly realized, that they were hearing it all the time, but didn't payed attention to it earlier, because they tried to figure out what was going on there.

They quickly turned around, to see a group of three planes coming in their way. But these planes were strange. They didn't had propellers and had something attached under their wings.

"Wait. Jets? Here?"confused Fernandia asked.

"And if they are jets, then I don't recognize them"Wilma said.

Suddenly, things under planes' wings flew towards the Witches, leaving traces of smoke behind them. They suddenly realized, what are these things.

"Missiles!"Angela exclaimed.

But before Witches managed to use their shields to deflect the missiles, a shape flew between them and missiles, leaving orbs of orange light behind it. Missiles lost interest in Witches and followed the orbs, until they hit them and exploded.

Three planes which attacked Witches broke formation. Suddenly, three more planes appeared and started chasing them. However, they looked different, more advanced. Fourth such plane started to circle around Witches.

"I have to say"fighter's pilot said on open channel"You could land anywhere, but of course, it had to put you in middle of battle".

Without thinking a lot, Takei recognized that voice.

"M-Mio?"she asked.

"I wondered, how long it would take for you to figure it out"Sakamoto said"By the way, nice to see you, Takei".

Other Witches, when they heard Takei's statement, simply held their breaths from surprise. Now, Federica got her voice back:

"Major Sakamoto of Strike Witches?"

"The same one. But currently, major Sakamoto of Shinigami Squadron"Sakamoto replied.

All Ardor Witches and Wilma had confused looks.

"I will explain everything later. Now, better go to our base. Osamu!"She turned to him"Can you escort them?"

"On it, sir"Osamu replied"Please, follow me, ladies".

Witches looked at each other hesitantly, but Sakamoto said:

"Easy, he's one of ours. You can trust him".

Takei gulped.

"Keep you by word"she said.

Ardor Witches and Wilma followed Osamu and flew to Ramstein. Meanwhile, Misaka flew up to Sakamoto.

"So we got new friends"she stated.

"Good notice"Sakamoto replied"But now, better let's go back to our task".

"On your order".

The three aircraft returned to the battle zone and rejoined the fight.

Florian and Luca managed to shot down another F-16, while Markus and Erica took care of Su-27. Charles and Henri fired missiles at AT position set up in the Gap. Janette evaded gunfire and performed Immelman Turn, to land behind J-10 chasing her and fired her gun, taking him down. One of Flacon Squadron pilots dropped flares to evade Chinese missiles, while Falcon 2 destroyed enemy chasing his comrade.

"Keep up the good work, people. We might win this in no time"AWACS said.

"I know, so let's keep it going!"Charles replied.

Two Battledogs 'sandwiched' MiG-29 and quickly turned their attention towards J-11 that appeared next to them. Flacon Squadron shot down another Su-27 and were followed by Jester Squadron. Heavy Horse 1 dropped behind J-10 and shredded it with his gun. He was followed by Owl 3 and Foxhound 5

"How many kills you got, Jinn?"Owl 3 asked.

"Ten. And you?"Owl 7 replied.

"Twelve"Owl 3 replied with smile.

Owl 7 shook her head.

"Not for long, buddy"she stated.

She launched missile towards MiG-29, while at the same time firing gun at J-11. Both enemy pilots were unable to say anything, before they were obliterated. Next, Owl 7 dropped behind F-16 and used her gun to change it into ball of fire.

"Well. That was actually cool"Owl 3 agreed.

In that moment, everyone got a giant radar signal.

10:54

Ramstein Air Base control tower

The flight controller in the tower was just sipping a cup of coffee. Few minutes earlier, he was informed that one of Shinigami Squadron members is escorting new Witches to the base. Because controller was student of JSDF High School, he was not surprised.

"After these all Witches arrived, new ones doesn't surprise me"he stated.

He wanted to take another sip of coffee, but noticed it's empty. He nodded on one of soldiers in the tower. Soldier approached him.

"What do you need?"he asked.

"Can you make me some more coffee?"controller asked.

Soldiers sighed and took the cup. But then, his eyes stopped on the radar in front of controller.

"What is that thing?"soldier asked.

Controller gave him asking look, but looked at the radar. Next, his face was cut by fear, once he saw what was on his radar. It was a giant aircraft, marked as AB-02. He quickly reached his IFF signal book and looked at it.

And his eyes widened in bigger fear.

"Holy shit! It wasn't supposed to be there!"he exclaimed and quickly grabbed his communicator"Fulda Gap, this is Ramstein…!"

Back over Fulda Gap

While fear was appearing among the fly controllers, the dogfight over the Gap was still continuing. Mio just shot down another J-10 and quickly changed her target on MiG-29, which also was quickly shot down. Misaka and Kotaro 'sandwiched' Chinese F-16 and shot down two J-11s. Shinzo and Etsuko managed to shot down another pair of MiG-29s.

But suddenly, they got call from AWACS:

"All units, we've just received information about enemy reinforcements coming our way".

"Well, it was expected"Florian stated"How many?"

There was a moment of silence on the second side. Finally, Sky Keeper gave the answer on his question:

"Only one".

"One?"Charles added with doubt"So it will go smoothly".

"But…"Sky Keeper couldn't find words"It's Arsenal Bird".

Another moment of silence appeared between them all. But it was shorter, as Charles broke it:

"Say it again".

"It's Arsenal Bird"Sky Keeper said again.

"But…It's impossible!"Florian stated"I though we blew this thing up once we left Europe!"

But immediately, he remembered that day, when London was attacked by Chinese aircraft. And by the drones.

"Damn, I knew something was wrong"he stated.

"What is Arsenal Bird?"Erica asked.

Markus quickly came with answer:

"Arsenal Bird is a giant airborne drone carrier, designed and built by Northrop Grumman. Side note: Arsenal Birds were originally designed for game _Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown._ But after Nitrosium was discovered, Americans decided to also create something like this, making it the first ever weapon transported from game to real world. And they created Arsenal Birds Liberty and Justice".

"In game, they were called the same by the way"Laura added.

"But Justice was shot down by Chinese over Pacific, while Liberty was shipped out to Europe, to help in defense. But, during the evacuation, we had not chance of evacuating it, so we wanted to destroy it"Florian said.

"But, as we can see, the explosives didn't worked as planned and now, Chinese have Arsenal Bird"Markus ended.

"How big is that thing?"Sakamoto asked.

But she wasn't waiting for answer for long.

Everyone's radars got signals coming from North. When they looked in that direction, they all were filled with fear.

A giant, wing shaped craft, emerged from between the clouds. It's massive shadow was covering the area beneath it. And it's propellers slowly pushed it forward, to meet with Coalition fighters.

Witches were the ones, to show the biggest disbelief. They saw giant Neuroi, but never thought, that man hands are able to create something as big. And yet, they were able to.

"But where is it carrying these drones?"Perrine asked.

In response, tens of small dots started to fall off Arsenal Bird's wings.

"You had to ask?"Erica asked.

"All units"AWACS said"Engage the Arsenal Bird. We have to shot it down as fast as possible!"

"You heard him, people"Charles said"Let's bring him down".

De Gaul, Owl and Battlehound Squadrons turned towards the massive aircraft. Immediately they were met by drones, already in the air.

Saddam evaded missile fired by drone, performed a Cobra and landed behind it, shooting it down with his gun. Perrine and Owl 7 'sandwiched' second drone, while Laura and Janette took care of two more of them.

Back at the main air battle, Sakamoto and Misaka managed to bring down two more J-10s. Kotaro scored and assist in taking down F-22 with Shinzo. Florian and Markus took down another three fighters, while Erica and Luca together brought down Su-27.

"How are you doing with the Arsenal Bird?"Sakamoto asked Charles.

"Could be worse. They have a number advantage, but I think we can handle much of it"De Gaul leader replied.

"Good. Keep them occupied. Once we're done here, we'll come to help you".

"Copy that. Be fast".

When Sakamoto disconnected, she turned her attention at MiG-29 chasing Falcon 3. She dropped behind the fighter and opened fire with her gun. Not soon after, smoke came from the enemy aircraft and soon, it was shredded by and explosion.

"Thanks for help"Falcon 3 said to her.

"No problem. Now, let's end it and fly help De Gaul"Sakamoto replied.

Falcon 3 nodded and joined the rest of his squadron.

Sakamoto rejoined with other Shinigami members and returned to taking down enemy aircraft.

"There are only ten of them left"Shinzo noticed.

"I see"Sakamoto replied"So let's make it zero".

"As you wish, Maj"Etsuko replied.

Next, she flew towards the closest enemy fighter, immediately firing her gun on top of him. Bullets hit the aircraft's back and soon, fighter exploded.

Shinzo turned his attention at Su-27 and quickly landed on his tale. He fired one of his short range missiles and Su-27 was changed into ball of fire. Kotaro managed to fly under F-16 and fired his gun from the underneath, destroying the American-made fighter. Sakamoto found herself chased by F-22, which even managed to score several hits on her aircraft's sheathing. However, Witch used her shield and bounced left. She made the tightest turn she could, finding herself behind the Stealth fighter. Next, she fired her own gun, bringing the enemy down.

"Only six left"Misaka reported.

"Okay, people. Fire missiles"Sakamoto ordered.

Everyone, who still had any short-range missiles fired them. Four enemy fighters were destroyed, while remaining two dropped flares.

"Take care of them"Sakamoto said.

Misaka and Shinzo chased down two remaining MiG-29s and soon, two burning wrecks fell towards the ground.

"Okay. Now, let's help De Gaul, Owl and Battledog with that giant thing".

Five aircraft turned and flew towards the giant aircraft visible in the distance.

Once they reached the place, they were immediately attacked by drones. AI controlled craft fired their missiles, but Shinigami Squadron countered them with flares. Next, they fired their guns and managed to take the drones down.

"Nice to see ya here"Charles said, taking down another drone.

Owl 2 and Battledog 5 followed him, shooting down another drones. Laura and Perrine took care of three more, when Perrine used her Witch ability to disable two drones and Laura shooting down another one. Saddam and Henri 'sandwiched' another two drones.

"How many did you shot down already?"Sakamoto asked.

"I counted fourteen, major"Perrine replied.

"And how many it can carry?"

"Around eighty"Laura said.

Sakamoto sighed.

"Well. I see, that we still have a lot to do"she said.

"Yes, you have"Charles agreed"So let's get to work with it".

After he said that, he evaded missile fired by drone and immediately landed behind the drone and destroyed it with his own missile. Janette had done the same. Etsuko followed her, shooting down two more drones. Shinzo and Battlehound 4 fired their guns at the same drone, easily shooting it down. Misaka and Henri took down another drone, with Misaka chasing it, while Henri attacked it from the side. Saddam performed a Barrel Roll, slowing down and letting drone to overtake him, while he stopped slowing down and fired his gun, taking down the drone.

"It's not so satisfying"he said.

"What do you mean, Saddam?"Laura asked.

"I mean, that drones are way easier to deal with, that normal pilots. I want some bigger challenge"Saddam replied.

Laura nodded.

"Yeah. I can agree with you, buddy"she said.

Next, she fired her gun at the closest drone and destroyed it. Etsuko helped Shinzo in taking down another drone and bounced left, to take care of another one. Sakamoto protected herself from the missile, using her shield. Misaka shot down the drone which attacked her squadron leader.

"Thanks for that"Sakamoto said.

"No problem"Misaka replied and added"If you would die, I wouldn't be able to command alone".

Witch smiled under her helmet. She could agree, that Misaka wasn't been the best commander ever. One time, on their training, her team lost, because she couldn't focus on commanding.

"Anyway"Misaka said"Let's finish this, huh?"

"I agree"Sakamoto replied.

"This is Sky Keeper"AWACS said"Attack the Arsenal Bird, till you have a chance".

"Copy that"Charles replied"Okay, let's do it".

All squadrons lined up, with their fronts pointing towards Arsenal Bird. Everyone got missiles locks and were ready to fire.

Laura noticed one thing. Over Arsenal Bird, an blue halo started to appear. She tried to remember, what it was meaning in the game, when she played it three years ago. But, unfortunately, she forgot it right now.

"Everyone fire!"Charles ordered.

All fighters fired their missiles. Arsenal Bird didn't even tried to evade it or use drones as shields. It simply waited for missiles to hit it from front and behind.

And then, Laura remembered what the halo meant.

"It's activating the…!"Laura tried to say, but didn't ended.

The halo suddenly grown up, that it surrounded the whole Arsenal Bird. Next, a bubble of energy started to form around it.

Missiles continued their flight towards the aircraft. But before they collided with their target, they crashed into the bubble surrounding the Arsenal Bird.

"What the hell?!"Etsuko shouted"What is it?!"

"It's Arsenal Bird's Active Protection System"Laura explained"It creates a defensive field around the machine, not letting anything to get through it".

"Guessing"Saddam said"Such field is possible thanks to Nitrosium?"

"Yes"Laura replied.

Charles tightened the grip on his pilot stick.

"Damn it!"he exclaimed"So, what do we do now?"

In that moment, Arsenal Bird started to drop another wave of drones. Everyone were shocked, seeing that they simply flew threw the defensive field.

"And why they can fly through it?"Janette asked.

"I don't know"Laura replied"That wasn't in game".

"Field is not letting anything to get through it, but let's anything exit?"Henri said.

"This could be the case"Saddam agreed.

In that moment drones opened fire and everything started again.

"Well. So better shot down as many drones as possible"Charles stated.

As he said that, he dropped behind one of drones and fired his gun at him. Drone was changed into burning wreck. Sakamoto and Misaka shot down two more drones, while Henri made a Cobra maneuver and landed behind drone, firing gun at him. Saddam dropped flares, evading missiles and bouncing left, to chase another drone. Owl 4 dropped behind one and saved Owl 2 by shooting the machine down.

"Thanks"Owl 2 said.

"No problem"Owl 4 replied"Just don't let them get you another time".

"As you wish".

Then, Owl 2 bounced right and also landed on tail of drone. He fired his last short range missile and drone was changed into ball of fire.

Meanwhile, Kotaro evaded bullets of drone and quickly made a Loop, landing behind it. Drone tried to bounce left, but Kotaro followed him and fired his gun, hitting the drone. Machine exploded and started to fall down towards the ground.

"I'm better at this!"Kotaro exclaimed.

"Keep it going"Misaka replied.

"Wanna count how many we destroyed?"

"Maybe after we return to base, okay?"

"Alright. Whatever yo…"

Suddenly, Kotaro got a missile warning.

"Shit!"he exclaimed.

Then, he bounced right, releasing flares. Flares saved him from missiles, but he didn't noticed another drone approaching him from the side. Machine fired it's gun and Kotaro felt his fighter shaking from the hit's the drone scored on him. Before he could notice, one of bullets flew through the canopy and hit the console.

"Let him go!"Misaka exclaimed.

She fell on the drone from the top, firing her gun. When drone was destroyed, she equalized her flight and joined Kotaro.

"Everything alright, Kotaro?"Misaka asked.

"Yeah…"Kotaro replied unsteadily"But I just lost half of my instruments. And how do it looks outside?"

Misaka looked at her cousin's plane and saw a pile of black smoke coming from it's back.

"Not good"the girl said"Maybe better get back to Ramstein?"

"True. Maybe better"Kotaro agreed, but reluctantly.  
"Easy. You will take part in our another mission, I promise"Misaka tried to calm down her cousin.

Kotaro smiled under his helmet.

"Keep you by word"he replied.

He then turned West and flew back to base.

"Sky Keeper, this is Shinigami 2"Misaka reported"Shinigami 6 is leaving the battle area. Send someone to escort him".

"Copy that, Shinigami 2"Sky Keeper replied"Owl 6, escort Shinigami 6 back to base".

"On it, Sky Keeper"Owl 6 replied.

Owl 6 also turned and followed Kotaro.

Meanwhile, other Shinigami members continued to to engage drones.

"How many we already killed?"Etsuko asked.

"I lost it after 16th"Shinzo replied.

"And I lost it after 20th"Sakamoto granted.

Misaka joined them.

"Kotaro is going back to base"she said"His fighter got damaged pretty hard".

"So it's better he left. I don't thing these drones would leave him alone"Shinzo said.

He looked at his ammo status.

"Shit. I'm almost out of ammo".

"I'm almost out of fuel"Henri said.

"And I'm low on ammo and fuel"Saddam added.

Sakamoto contacted with Sky Keeper:

"Sky Keeper, this is Sakamoto. We're getting low on ammo and fuel".

"Copy that, major. Eliminate few more drones and you can go. Arsenal Bird won't let us get this air superiority. We have to withdraw"Sky Keeper replied.

Next, Sakamoto changed her frequency and contacted Florian:

"You heard that?"

"Yeah"Florian replied"Here, we also are getting low on everything. Chinese found new fighting spirit after Arsenal Bird arrived. We're getting out of there soon".

Right then, Sky Keeper came on radio:

"Wait a minute. I got a new signal coming this way. Very fast".

"Can you say what is it?"Perrine asked.

"It's…"Sky Keeper wanted to say, but didn't managed to.

A black shape flew through the battlefield and disappeared as fast as it appeared. Everyone looked at it.

"What the hell was that?"Owl 7 asked.

"It looked like a black J-10 for me"Shinzo replied.

Few seconds later, they got a call:

"This is Owl 6. I just got a bogey on my tail".

Misaka felt a pressure in her chest.

"Don't let him get you, Owl 6! I'm going there!"she exclaimed.

However, before she could turn in that direction, another few drones came into her way.

"Damn it!"

Owl 6, in the meantime, tried to evade the mysterious black J-10. He noticed that the enemy is following his every move, doing it the same.

"Who the hell are you?"Owl 6 asked.

He then performed Cobra to land behind the enemy fighter. He locked onto it and moved his finger on firing button.

"Don't get too cocky"Owl 6 said.

But before he could press the button, J-10 made a quick Loop and found itself over Owl 6. Coalition pilot watched the aircraft firing it's gun onto Owl 6s back. Soon, Owl 6 was burning wreck, falling towards the ground.

Then, J-10 pilot's eyes stopped on the black trail of smoke coming out of Kotaro's plane. Chinese pilot quickly flew towards him.

Kotaro noticed this. He seemed like a completely defenseless victim. And he actually was, without the half of his instruments.

"Damn it"Kotaro said.

J-10 then dropped behind him. His gun started to fire, but Kotaro was managing to evade it, by performing the Barrel Roll.

"You won't get me so easy"the Japanese said.

And then, happened what Kotaro feared the most.

He felt something shaking his aircraft. When he turned around, he saw a fire coming out of back of his plane. He tried to turn, but with fear noticed, that the wings are not responding. With bigger fear he stated, that bail out system isn't working too.

J-10 pilot smiled, seeing this.

"Got him"he whispered.

He locked onto Kotaro and fired his missile.

Everything slowed down for a minute. Kotaro simply watched the missile approaching him on a radar. He was paralyzed by fear. Everything he ever did literally passed by his eyes. Sound of missile warning started to sound in the cockpit, but he didn't payed anymore attention on it. He simply waited.

Missile changed Kotaro's plane into falling ball of fire.

"Owl 6 and Shinigami 6…"Sky Keeper said and gulped"…lost".

Everyone simply became silent because of shock. This message especially hit Shinigami Squadron. But the most shocked of them, was Misaka.

"Kotaro…"she whispered, feeling tears in her eyes.

"Let's get out of here, people. We won't do anything more here"Charles stated.

All aircraft turned and flew towards Ramstein. During the flight, Misaka looked in the direction of place, where Kotaro's plane crashed. The pile of smoke was clearly visible there. Girl turned her head.

She was silent all the way back to base.

11:54

Ramstein Air Base

The bad mood could be felt all around the base. Message of the loss over Fulda Gap quickly spread around the base. And hearing about Arsenal Bird's involvement only made the matter worse.

Ardor Witches and Wilma were sitting in the Shinigami Squadron's hangar, with their Strikers laying behind them, under the wall. They simply watched the soldiers walking and running around, some in formations, other alone. Vehicles were driving around the facility and everything was loaded on the transport aircraft.

Osamu entered the hangar, with tray of drinks in his hand. He placed it on table between Witches and smiled.

"Hope you will like it"he said.

"Thanks, Osamu"Takei replied.

Witches took the drinks and tried them. They nodded with recognition.

"That's nice"Fernandia said.

"Thanks"Osamu replied"My dad taught me how to do drinks. Our family has a bar back in Yokohama".

Right then, they heard sound of engines. When they looked in that direction, they saw the aircraft returning from Fulda Gap. Shinigami Squadron started to land first, then De Gaul, Jäger and others.

"There they are"Osamu said, as Shinigami Squadron planes taxed down the runway and stopped in the hangar.

Sakamoto opened her canopy and exited. Osamu came up to her.

"Hey, Maj. I heard about Arsenal Bird"he said.

"Guess that everybody heard"Sakamoto replied.

Osamu looked at other members of his squadron. He noticed, that Misaka is surely in more worse mood that the others.

And then, he noticed that someone's missing.

"Where's the kid?"he asked.

As Kotaro was the youngest of squadron members, everyone, except Misaka, liked to call him 'kid'. Of course, this made him mad a little, but often he didn't mind it.

In response, Sakamoto shook her head.

"He didn't made it out".

Now Osamu looked at Misaka with bigger understanding. Girl simply turned around and walked out of the hangar. Osamu wanted to go after her, but was stopped by Shinzo.

"Leave her alone. She needs to get through this"he said.

Meanwhile, Sakamoto approached the Ardor Witches and Wilma, with her helmet still in her hand.  
"At least you left, before it all started to fall apart"she said.

"What even happened there?"Luciana asked.

Sakamoto threw up her arms.

"In short: we just been beaten up to hell"she said.

"Oh"Luciana simply said.

"Wilma!"

Everyone turned their heads, hearing this. They saw Lynette running into the hangar, dressed in her army undershirt, pants and boots. She stopped next to her sister and hugged her. Wilma returned the hug.

"I'm happy to see you!"Lynette exclaimed.

"Me too, Lynn"Wilma replied, when the two stopped hugging.

"I just heard about your arrival and came here as fast, as possible".

Then, older sibling noticed the outfit Lynette was wearing.

"What are you wearing?"Wilma asked.

"I will answer later, really"Lynette provided.

In that moment, another person entered the hangar.

"Sakamoto"Saltarski said.

"What is it, Christian?"Witch asked.

Pole pointed behind him.

"I think someone is looking for you"he replied.

Witch looked where he was pointing and understood. She saw their commander-in-chief, colonel Masaru Toichida, standing next to hangar entrance. Next, she looked at Saltarski again, nodded and went to the colonel.

Meanwhile, Saltarski approached the newly arrived Witches.

"So. Another Witches to collection, right?"he asked.

"It seems like it"Shinzo replied.

"Well then"Saltarski stated"Better tell others".

Shinzo looked at him.

"Others don't know yet?"he asked.

"When they arrived, other Witches were preparing to start offensive towards Berlin. Now, as we lost the battle, they were all called back here"He looked at his watch"They should be here in the next half an hour".

Ardor Witches and Wilma looked at each other.

"If other Witches that disappeared are here…"Federica said.

"They are all here. Every single one"Lynette provided.

"Well"Wilma said"I think you have a lot to talk about?"

Lynette simply nodded.

Takei, on the other hand, went towards Mio, talking to colonel. When she came closer, she heard what they were saying:

"I'm really sorry because of sergeant Kuniko's death. He was one and only".

"I know. Captain Narohito was his family and she took it hard"Sakamoto replied.

"You think she'll be able to do her duties?"colonel asked.

Sakamoto thought about it.

"I don't know. It depends of her and only her".

Colonel then noticed Takei standing few meters away.

"Can you stop eavesdrop?"he asked.

"Easy, sir. She's my friend"Sakamoto said.

Colonel once more looked at Takei.

"If so, she can come closer then"he stated.

Takei did what colonel said and stood next to Sakamoto. Colonel then reached his pocket and gave a card of paper to Witch.

"What is it?"Sakamoto asked.

"Transfer orders. Whole 4th Fleet have to move to Middle East and help there"colonel explained"Egyptians are preparing to start a full scale offensive towards Iraq and Iran. They need backup strong enough to make it happen".

"Middle East, huh?"

Since their arrival, Sakamoto heard a lot about the Middle Eastern conflicts, especially the Arab-Israeli one. Now, they were going there themselves.

"Well. I think this is gonna be an interesting journey"Sakamoto stated.

"You think so?"Takei asked.

"You're gonna see when the others return. We'll tell you".

"So. Prepare everything, major. We're moving back on the ships at 2000 hours"Colonel saluted and walked away.

In that moment, the forces withdrawn from the offensive started to return to the base. Tanks, soldiers and other vehicles started to park in different places.

"There are the others"Sakamoto said.

Takei looked at her friend with confused look.

"Others?"she asked.

"Give as sometime to explain this"Sakamoto replied.

Sometime later, other Witches joined them in the hangar.

One hour later…

"…and here we are now"Minna ended.

Ardor Witches and Wilma were thinking of the things they just heard. About China, Nitrosium and Military High Schools. Especially it was hard to believe, while looking at Witches wearing uniforms of both Air Force and Army.

"And since you all landed there, you fight China, just like you fought with Neuroi?"Federica asked.

"We couldn't just sit there, doing nothing. If we wanted to live in Military High Schools during our stay here, we also had to join them in fight"Perrine replied.

"And actually, you can get used to this situation quickly"Nikka said.

Newly arrived Witches looked at each other.

"So, until someone find a way to send us back home, we have to fight in this war?"Patricia asked.

"As Nikka said: you can get used to this situation quickly"Barkhorn replied.

Then, Minna said:

"Anyway. We have to prepare everything for our transfer to Middle East. Wanna help us?"

Everyone threw up their arms.

"Sure. We don't have anything to do anyway"Federica said.

After these words, all Witches stood up and went to prepare everything for transfer.

XXX

 **Alright, as you can see, the operation to gain superiority over Fulda Gap was a failure. But now, it's time for something I was looking forward since I started the story: Middle Eastern Arc.**

Federica: Why you waited for this?

 **Oh, girl, I have so many stuff to put on the Middle East, including some important story stuff. Not only that, but I simply love desert warfare. That's why I waited so long for this.**

Federica: That makes sense.

Takei: And if I can ask. What parts of military will you put us in?

 **This will be revealed in next chapter, so wait for it. See you!**

Federica and Takei: See ya!


	22. Chapter 19

**Finally, after a long, long time, we arrived. Middle East. The biggest oil aggregation in the world. And by last two years, place where Chinese were doing what they wanted.**

Federica: And this is why we arrived here.

 **Yes. To kick the Chinese out of the place. Egyptians are the ones to help you with this. And Minna.**

Minna: Yes?

 **You have a meeting with someone from Egyptian Army.**

Minna: Me? Wait, what…

 **Let's start the chapter!**

Chapter 19

,,Guardians of the Middle East Pt.1: Defending Giza"

October 20, 2022

13:22

Coalition base 'Anubis', Giza

After a long journey, 4th School Fleet finally reached Egypt. However, due to the destruction of Alexandria by O.D.I.N. year prior, all School Carriers were forced to move to Greece, which was already liberated by Coalition. After that, soldiers from schools were transferred to various bases, mainly in Sinai Peninsula, from where the offensive had to start.

"Welcome to Anubis Base"Michael said, as he, Will, Tiffany and Shirley came out of the Blackhawk.

"It's pretty big"Shirley stated.

"Yeah. It has to fill in over fifty thousand soldiers"Will added.

They all looked around, seeing number of Egyptian soldiers in the base. Others were unloading too, with Egyptians helping them.

"This will be our home for some time, so better get used to this heat"Tiffany said to Shirley.

At this moment, a soldier came up to them. However, as Shirley noticed, the soldier was dressed in different uniform than the Egyptian, with a white flag with two blue belts and star on his arm.

"Captain Johnson"the soldier said"Captain Cohen and captain Malak wants to talk to you".

"Tell them, that we'll all come soon"Michael said to the soldier.

He walked away and Shirley looked at Michael.

"He wasn't Egyptian, right?"she asked.

"No. He was from Israeli Defense Force"Tiffany replied"It's strange to see Egyptians working with guys, with which they fought for over seventy years".

"Yeah. Egypt and Israel went to war with one another many times, since Israel was created"Will added.

"And who are these captains Cohen and Malak?"Witch asked.

"Captain Annika Cohen is from IDF High School. We often did joint trainings with Israeli, this is when I met her. And Abla Lina Malak Abir Gusen is one of the first girl to join Egyptian Army High School"Michael explained.

Shirley looked at him with confusion.

"Why one of the first?"she asked.

"Because before, in Muslim countries, only men were allowed to join Military High Schools. However, in 2019, Saudi Arabia let women to join them too. Egypt was second to follow. Then Kuwait and United Arab Emirates"Will explained.

"Why? I heard, that Islam prohibits these things to women".

The three simply threw up their arms.

"Times change. And cultures too"Tiffany said.

Meanwhile, Linchov helped Pokryshkin carrying an ammo box.

"What kind of ammo is inside?"Pokryshkin asked.

"Missiles for RPG. And yeah, I would prefer carrying normal ammo too"he replied.

The two put the box among the others. Linchov rubbed his hands and looked at the Orussian Witch. He then scratched back of his head.

"Hey, listen"he started.  
"Yeah?"Pokryshkin turned to him.  
"When we end with all this unloading everything, maybe we could go for something to eat in Cairo?"Linchov asked.

Witch looked at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Where did that come from?"she asked.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just…"the Russian thought about it for a moment"Sorry that I was evading you so much. I want it to be something like…meeting you closer, I guess?"

Aleksandra rubbed her chin and finally nodded.

"Why not, actually. I would like to meet you closer too"she said.

Linchov then nodded and turned around. Witch didn't saw a smile forming on his face.

14:03

Anubis Base main briefing room

After the unpacking was over, all 4th School Fleet adjutants and their companions gathered in base's briefing room. There, they waited for Annika and Abla.

"So. Before they come, we need to talk"Saltarski said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What do you want to talk about?"Crystal asked.

"About the current situation in Europe. Especially about the Arsenal Bird"he said.

There was a moment of silence, before Janos said:

"Didn't we talked about it?"

"Yes. But we have to find a way to destroy it"he stated.

But before he ended to say it, Michael already shook his head.

"Remember about the Nitrosium shield. Nothing can break through it. Even ballistic and cruise missiles can't break it"he said.

"How did you know?"Anton asked.

"We tried"Michael said.

Before 4th School Fleet left Europe, USS _James Madison_ fired cruise and ballistic missiles towards Arsenal Bird. However, none of them did any damage to the giant machine.

"Yeah…Anyway. Any other ideas?"Crystal asked.

But before anyone could answer, the door opened and two girl entered the room. First of them was dressed in Israeli uniform and had blue eyes and blonde hair. Second had a darker skin, chestnut hair, green eyes and was dressed in Egyptian uniform.

The two stood in front of the others and smiled.

"Good to see you here"Abla said.

They came up to everyone and shook hands.

"Long time no see, huh?"Annika said to Michael.

"True. Really nice to see you again"the American replied.

Israeli and Egyptian looked at the adjutants. Next, they stood at the podium and turned the briefing room screen.

"Okay, guys. I'm sure you didn't heard a lot about our doings after the liberation of Sinai?"Abla asked.

"Well. We were too occupied by liberating South America, landing in Europe, taking back France and being stopped at Fulda Gap line"Anton counted.

Annika scratched back of her head.

"Right"she said"Anyway, although we didn't moved further than Sinai, we still made some progress".

On a screen behind them, map of Levant appeared. Next, it zoomed at some place in Syrian desert.

"After Sinai, we did several offensive actions. Especially in Syria and Jordan, where Chinese were preparing forces to start advance towards Cairo. Fortunately, our intelligence managed to give us this info"Abla said.

"And after that, we sent our paratroopers to take care of their supply lines and thanks to this, Chinese stopped their preparations"Annika added.

"So this is all what you were doing?"Helena asked.

But both girls shook their heads.

"No. We were also doing some other actions"Israeli said.

"Many Chinese officers lost their lives by this year since Sinai liberation"Abla said.

Then, photos of around seventy officers in Chinese uniforms appeared on the screen. Some of them didn't looked Chinese, but Arab and also European.

"Thanks to this, we also managed to slow down their counteroffensive, if they planned any"Annika said.

"This is from our side. And did you had anything interesting stories to tell us?"Abla asked.

All 4th School Fleet adjutants looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Next, they again looked at their Egyptian and Israeli counterparts. The two didn't knew, what this meant and gave asking looks.

"What's so funny?"Annika asked.

"We'll show you"Linchov said"Follow us."

After these words, they left the briefing room.

14:36

Anubis Base canteen

In the canteen, Witches were eating a dinner. Ardor Witches and Wilma joined them too.

After the newly arrived Witches joined Military High Schools too, they also landed in various types of armed forces. Federica, Fernandia, Luciana and Martina signed up to Italian Armed Forces High School Armored Corps. Suwa and Nakajima joined Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, while Takei joined Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces. Patricia and Jane joined Artillery Corps in British and US Army. Wilma joined British Army, like Lynette. And Dominica joined as a pilot in USAF.

Angela joined Army too, but situation with her was like with Matilda in case of Storm Witches. When 4th School Fleet passed by Iberian Peninsula, Angela went to Spanish Military High School and joined it.

"I heard, that Egypt is hot, but not that much"Dominica said.

"Well. It's already Autumn"Minna said"So it's better, that we get there now, not in Summer."

"Maybe you're right"Takei agreed.

Then, Minna noticed, that someone's missing.

"Where are your Romagna Witches?"she asked.

"They're still training with their Centauro"Takei replied.

After joining Italian Armed Forces High School, Witches of 504th landed as a crew of one of B1 Centauro tank destroyers. And honestly, they were pretty good as a tank destroyer crew, although they didn't participated in any battle yet.

"Hope they won't break anything. I don't see myself paying for destroyed things"Takei said.

Right then, adjutants entered the canteen, accompanied by Abla and Annika. The two looked around, not knowing why they were brought here.

"What you wanted us to see?"Abla asked.

"Well. You see all these girls around?"Saltarski asked.

Annika and Abla nodded.

"Well. Girls!"Janos said.

Witches looked in their direction.

"Abla, Annika. Meet the Witches!"Natalia said.

In that moment, Witches activated their familiars. Seeing this, both Egyptian and Israeli jumped back from surprise. They looked at 4th School Fleet adjutants, surprised by their calmness. All had smiles on their faces.

"What the fuck is happening?"Annika asked.

"We're gonna tell you everything, but first…"Anton said and turned"Minna!"

Strike Witches commander stood up and came up to them.

"You want me to meet this two?"she asked, standing next to Anton.

And immediately, she became speechless. Abla actually did the the same. And all of this because…Abla was Minna's double. Only difference was Abla's darker skin and chestnut hair. Everything else, like in other cases, was the same.

Annika also was looking at it, not able to say anything. Again, she noticed, that adjutants aren't surprised at all.

"But…how?"Abla finally asked.

"Well. I actually should expect to meet my double one day"Minna said.

Abla looked at adjutants.

"What really is happening here?"she asked.

"Let us explain"Michael said and started.

Some time later…

As Michael ended, both Annika and Abla were both surprised, scared and shocked by what they just heard.

"Alternate WW2?"Annika asked.

"Yes"Linchov said.

"With aliens instead of Third Reich?"Abla asked.

"Yup"Kozue said.

"And Witches are humanity's only hope?"

"Aha"Saltarski replied.

"And some of you are their doubles from this world?"

"Exactly"Helena ended.

Again, the two looked at Witches in the canteen.

"Well. I never believed in Multiverse Theory"Annika said"But now…"

"You get used. Really"Crystal promised.

"Okay. I think I need to get used to seeing myself with wolf ears"Abla said, smiling.

"And I need to get used to see myself in Arabic form"Minna replied.

Both Egyptian and her Witch counterpart erupted with laughing.

"Okay. Hope you already made yourself comfortable in the base?"Abla asked.

"Yes. We already unpacked and hid our things in our temporary rooms"Minna replied.

"Good. You can be helpful in throwing Chinese out of Middle East"Annika said, smiling.

"You can be sure about that"Minna said.

Annika turned to Michael:

"So. See you tomorrow during exercises."

Next, she and Abla simply left the canteen.

"Okay, people. The day is free for us, because real training is gonna start tomorrow"Michael said.

"What we can do then?"Lucchini asked.

"Whatever you want"Linchov said"But with mind, of course. Nothing too crazy, what will end with us paying for destruction."

"Sure"Witches said.

After this was said, everyone started leaving the canteen.

17:48

Pour Vous Roof Top Bar

Doing what Michael said, Witches decided to do something in Cairo. Some decided to visit pyramids and Sphinx, while others simply went to Cairo. Some were visiting landmarks and others went to several bars and clubs.

Shinigami Squadron and several other Fusoan Witches went to the bar they were in now. It was placed on top of one of taller buildings in the city. Almost all members of the Squadron were sitting at one table. Except of one: Misaka. She was sitting at separate table, not letting anyone to sit with her. She only had several drinks with her.

Other members of the squadron simply looked at her.

"You think she's gonna be alright?"Osamu asked.

"As I said in Rmastein: we'll see"Sakamoto replied.

She looked at Takei, which was sitting next to her. After Ardor Witches 2IC joined JASDF, she was assigned to Shinigami Squadron, due to the death of Kotaro. However, because there were only six Shinshins in the school, and Kotaro had one of them, Takei was granted F-2.

Right then, waiter brought a tray with their drinks on it. He put them on table and walked away.

"Anyway. What are the plans for next few days?"Takei asked.

"We have to do some trainings and then, start offensive towards the Iraq and Iran. Plan simple, but we should see how execution will look like"Sakamoto replied.

Takei took a sip of her drink.

"So…I wanted to ask you earlier, but, but I didn't had occasion. What were you doing by all this time in Military High School?"she asked.

"Well. Many things"Sakamoto replied and started counting"Studying, training and fighting in war. However, also, some Witches discovered their new, unknown talents."

Her friend tilted head.

"What talents?"Takei asked.

"Many. For example, I discovered, that I'm very good in fighting games"Sakamoto replied.

"Yeah, she threw off of my Mortal Kombat podium"Osamu said"I was Fighting Games Champion three years in a row."

"And then, Maj came"Shinzo added.

Takei smiled. She didn't knew, what Mortal Kombat is, but she knew, that Osamu is keen and really hardcore gamer.

"And Sadako, for example, turned out to be amazing DJ"Sakamoto continued.

"What do you mean?"Takei asked.

Sakamoto turned.

"Sadako!"she called.

Sadako stood up and left the table, at which she was sitting with Keiko and Hiakri. She came up to Shinigami table.

"What is it?"she asked.

"Takei would like to see, how good DJ you are"Sakamoto replied.

Sadako replied with smile and nodded.

"Sure thing"she said.

Next, she turned around and went towards the DJ console, on the second side of the roof. She came up to the current DJ, leaned over and whispered something to him. DJ took off his headphones, gave to her and backed off. Witch took his place.

And immediately she started to do, what DJ do, not loosing the rhythm of the previous one.

 **Light-Jerome**

Takei simply looked at this in awe. She knew, that Witches were there for a long time, but didn't expected one of them to be as good in such things.

"Wow. She's good"Takei admitted.

"I know. Since she started her job in our school night club, party never stops there"Etsuko said.

Once again, everyone looked at Misaka. With both surprise and fear they noticed, that from around seven drinks she had, five were empty and she was drinking sixth. However, before she took a sip, she fell on her table and started snoring.

Shinigami Squadron members looked at each other.

"I think it's enough for her"Etsuko said.

"I noticed, you know"Osamu said"Maybe I'll try to take her back to base."

"Yeah. She drunk too much"Sakamoto said.

Osamu stood up and came up to Misaka. He pocked her, wanting to wake her up. She looked at him and simply returned to sleeping. Boy sighed. He picked up sleeping girl and decided to carry her back to base.

"Hope she won't beat him up"Shinzo said.

"Yeah. I don't want o pick him up from hospital"Sakamoto replied.

Next, they all started laughing,

18:21

Costa Coffee

Linchov and Pokryshkin were sitting in the cafe, drinking tea. By all this time, they didn't spoke a single word. They only looked at each other. From time to time, they smiled to each other.

And finally, Linchov said:

"Why did you even joined military? I mean, in your world."

Witch looked at him and took another sip of her tea.

"That actually is a duty of all Witches. To join military and fight in case of war"she replied.

"Huh. In Russia, we have obligatory recruitment. But only up to 20% of right age group"Linchov said.

Pokryshkin looked at him.

"And why did you joined military?"she asked.

Linchov only threw up his arms.

"Because my father wanted the tradition to continue"he replied.

"What tradition?"

"In my family, since it's very beginning, the firstborn son joined the army. My great-great-great grandfather fought in Russian-Persian War of 1796, great-great grandfather fought in Crimean War, great grandfather fought in World War 1, grandfather fought in Great Patriotic War and my father and I fought in World War 3."

"That's a long history of military service"Witch stated.

Linchov nodded in response.

"I know. And my family is proud of it"he said.

Witch put down her cup and her elbows on the table. Next, she put her face on her hands.

"I have to admin. I would never think that talking with you can be so relaxing"she said.

"Many people told me this"Linchov said, throwing his arms up.

Aleksandra nodded and asked another question:

"And what is your hobby?"

"Well. I really like _Metro 2033_ "Linchov replied.

"Yeah, I know. I saw in your room"Aleksandra replied.

She's been in Linchov's room several times, when she wanted to talk with Sanya. They were two only Orussian Witches in this world and she thought, that they should often be close to each other.

But after a short time, Aleksandra felt more confident in the school and this idea was thrown into the bucket.

"And what you like to do?"Linchov asked.

"Let me think…I like reading. Training with other Witches. And flying with my Strikers"she replied.

"So things that you might like in your times".

Witch nodded her head.

And then, she noticed, that Linchov nervously knocks his cup with his finger. She tilted her head and looked at him.

"Is something…bothering you?"Aleksandra asked.

Linchov looked at her and stopped knocking the cup.

"Actually, yes. There is another reason why I invented you here"he said.

He put his cup down and looked deeply into Aleksandra's eyes. She simply waited for what he had to say.

"You ever wondered, why I was evading you?"he asked.

"Yes"Aleksandra replied shortly.

"I was doing because…Well"Linchov gulped, before saying"I like you."

There was a moment of silence between the two. They simply looked at each other, don't knowing, what to do next.

"You…like me?"Aleksandra finally asked.

Linchov nodded.

"Then why was you evading me?"she continued to ask.

"It's because…I was not sure, if you would like to be with someone like me"he replied.

Witch tilted her head, thinking about what Linchov just said, then asked:

"Why would you think like that?"

"There are few reasons. You're a beautiful and smart girl. I'm not someone, who would be besieged by girls like you"Linchov explained.

And then, much to his surprise, he felt girl's hand on his cheek.

"You know what? There's a problem"Aleksandra said.

"What kind of problem?"Linchov asked nervously.

She moved her face closer.

"I'm not like other girls"she said.

And then, without warning, she put her lips to Linchov's. Boy simply widened his eyes in surprise. But well. He couldn't say he didn't enjoyed it.

"Hmpf"Linchov scuffed.

Aleksandra stopped kissing him and asked:

"What is it?"

"Maybe better don't kiss me here"he proposed.

Not knowing what he meant, she tilted her head again.

"Why?"she asked.

"Look around."

Witch did what he said and saw many man looking at them with unpleasant looks.

"Why are they looking at us like that?"

"In Islam, showing feelings in public is not interpreted in right way. And that kiss was probably too much"Linchov explained.

In that moment, waiter came up to them.  
"Sorry for disturbing you, but may I ask you to leave this place?"he asked and walked away.

The two looked at each other.

"I warned you"Linchov said.

"Okay, let's go"Aleksandra said, grabbing his hand.

They left the cafe, not looking at man, sending them more unpleasant looks.

21:53

'Anubis' base

Saltarski and Hisako were standing next to Humvee, with their backs on it. The two looked around the base.

"You see them anywhere?"Saltarski asked.

"Nope"Hisako replied.

Boy shook his head.

"Where the hell are Janos, Natalia, Pierre, Chris, Lynn and Abla? They should return a long time ago"he said.

The said people went to visit the pyramids. And since the afternoon, they simply disappeared. Nobody saw them returning and so, general Nagy asked Saltarski and Hisako to wait for them. But if they won't return until 22:00, the two had a right to go sleep.

"What if they simply ran away?"worried Hisako asked.

But Krystian shook his head again.

"They aren't the types of people, that would run away from the military. At least, they spent almost all of the war with weapon in their hands"he stated.

"I know, I know. But it's pretty suspicious, that they're gone for so long"Saltarski replied.

Hisako yawned in response.

"Okay. Better let's go to sleep. We look for them tomorrow"she said and turned.

"Maybe you're right."

Krystian turned too and followed Hisako.

22:12

Anubis Base Air Section, Perrine & Saddam's room

Both Perrine and Saddam were laying in their beds in the base. De Gaul Squadron spent the free time they got in Infantry House Bowling Center. From all pilots in the squadron, Saddam got the best score.

"I have to ask. Where did you learned to play bowling so good?"Perrine asked.  
"Dad was a keen player. He often took me to the bowling and tough me everything"Saddam replied.

"Good for you"Witch admitted.

She then turned around, preparing to sleep.

"Perrine"Saddam said.

"What?"

"You like to look into stars?"

Witch smiled. Saddam liked to ask such questions. Some people even said, that he could be a good philosopher. But honestly, Perrine knew, that he's better as a pilot.

"Sometimes. And why do you ask?"Perrine replied finally.

"You know. I'm just curious"Saddam replied"I like to do it, because it makes me calm. And let me think about something else, than trying to survive another day on the frontlines."

"True. We need something, what let us think about other things"she agreed.

"And especially in such a hard times. But I guess, you have harder times in your world"he stated.

"You could say it like that. Neuroi are not as hard enemies as China, actually"Perrine stated.

And then she understood, that it was true. Neuroi were fierce and hard enemies, but after all this time she spent here, she stated, that Chinese are more keen on fighting and killing others. She heard, that by first two years of war, Chinese already killed over fifty million people. Almost the same number Neuroi killed by five years of war.

"Anyway. Good night"Saddam simply said and also turned.

Few seconds later, he was snoring. Perrine simply did the same.

05:30

But few hours later, she was woken up by some shouts in Arabic. They were coming from speakers placed outside the base. She looked around, looking for her glasses.

When she found them and put on her face, she noticed that Saddam isn't sleeping and put's his boots on.

"Where are you going?"she asked.

Boy looked at her.

"You don't hear it?"he asked.

"Only thing I hear, are just screams in Arabic."

Saddam nodded.

"Exactly"he said.

"What are those screams?"

"Call to morning prayer"Saddam explained"Every Muslim must pray five times a day."

"And why are you dressing up?"

Algerian looked at her again, with smile on his face.

"Remember, that I'm a Muslim too. So I have to pray five times per day too"he replied"So see you later, Per."

He stood up and walked out of the room. Perrine, on the other hand, simply threw up her arms and laid back down, to sleep, unfortunately, just one more hour.

06:38

Another sound ripped Perrine out of her dream. However, this was something more known for her, than an Arabic call to prayer. She immediately knew, what it was.

Air raid siren.

Witch jumped out of her bed and started to dress up. When she ended, Saddam jumped into the room.

"You're ready?"he asked.

"As you can see"Witch replied.

He nodded.

"Good. Follow me, then."

Without hesitation, the two left the room and ran towards hangar. On the way there, Perrine caught up with Saddam and asked:

"What is happening?"

"Our radars detected a number of Chinese aircraft approaching the base. They want every available pilot in the air as fast as possible"Saddam explained.

"Well. So better get ready for fight"Perrine stated.

"I agree."

Few minutes later, the two entered the hangar, where other pilots were already preparing to take off. Shinigami and Jäger Squadrons already were on their way towards the runway. De Gaul Squadron was just preparing.

When Saddam and Perrine ran up to the rest of the squadron, Henri threw their helmets to them. They caught them and quickly entered the Rafales.

"Alright people. Chinese decided to finally move their asses. They're coming here with bombers"Charles said.

Henri whistled.

"Bombers? We haven't got those in awhile"he stated.

"I know, tight?"Laura replied"So it's time to take down some more of them."

Squadron already taxed on the runway and waited for confirmation from the tower.

"De Gaul, you're cleared for take off. Don't let those bombers take you down"tower said.

"Copy that. De Gaul, taking off"Charles confirmed.

Six Dassault Rafales then started to lift up, until they were in the air again. They quickly joined with Shinigami and Jäger.

"Good that you joined us"Sakamoto said.

"I know. But enough of this. Let's better focus on enemies"Charles proposed.

"I agree"Florian added.

In that moment, everyone started to get radar signals. Green dots representing enemies were in bigger numbers for sure.

"IFF signals confirm these planes to be Dassault Rafale, J-10s and F-15s"Osamu reported"Enemy bombers are signed as Tu-95 and B-1B Lancers."

"Great. So we have equal chances with them"Charles stated.

"True"Sakamoto agreed"De Gaul, you take care of enemy Rafales. Others, let's take care of F-15s, J-10s and those bombers."

"Copy that"Florian reported.

"On it"Charles said.

Soon, they all locked their missiles on enemies. Everyone pressed the firing button and missiles flew towards the enemy formation. Some of them scored hits, but much of Chinese pilots dropped flares and chaffs, which countered the missiles.

"Shinigami Squadron, engage!"Sakamoto ordered.

"Jäger Squadron, engage!"Florian ordered.

"De Gaul Squadron, engage!"Charles ordered.

Sakamoto then turned to Takei:

"Be ready. It's your first fight."

"I think I can handle it"Takei replied.

"Let's see."

And so, the fight started.

Saddam managed to land behind Rafale, firing his gun at Chinese. Enemy pilot tried to evade, but it seemed, like he didn't even knew, how to use the full potential of French aircraft. In addition to Saddam.

He performed Barrel Roll, at the same time firing his gun. Bullets pierced the sheathing and soon, enemy fighter exploded. It's wreck flew towards the ground and crashed next to the Sphinx.

"Wow, that was close"he said.

"Yeah. Maybe better try not to fight them over such ancient structures. We don't want to destroy them"Charles said.

"Let's try then"Henri said.

He landed behind another Rafale and took it down with a few bullets in the engines.

Takei then dropped behind F-15. She fired her gun and saw bullets hitting the plane. However, F-15 suddenly bounced left, leaving Takei on collision course with Rafale. She pulled her pilot stick and bounced left too.

However, sever bullets fired by Rafale managed to hit her.

"Takei, everything's okay?"Sakamoto asked.

"Yes, it's okay"Takei replied"I just still can't feel this plane."

"I had the same about Shinshin"Sakamoto agreed.

She then sat on tail of F-15 and fired her gun. Bullets shredded the back stabilizers and aircraft turned and flew towards the ground. Janette dropped behind another Rafale and managed to take him down with her gun.

"Tower, what about the bombers?"Janette asked the tower.

"They're still coming. We're also trying find out, what kind of bombs are they carrying"tower replied.

"Hope that not nuclear"Laura said.

"I hope the same"tower agreed"So pray for that."

"Copy"Charles replied.

He then landed behind another Rafale and send a wave of bullets towards him. Enemy aircraft was shredded into little pieces. Florian and Luca 'sandwiched' another F-15, while Erica used her ability to precipitate enemy fighter out of rhythm and shot him down. Markus simply fell on F-15 from the top.

"We're beating them up!"Markus said.

"For now!"Florian replied"Be prepared for Arsenal Bird pulled out from their sleeve!"

Smile disappeared from Markus' face.

"And you broke all the fun, Flo"he said to his commander.

But Florian was already occupied by another enemy fighter, which landed behind him. Fortunately, Etsuko saved him by dropping behind enemy fighter and fired her gun at him, bringing him down.

"Thanks"Florian said to her.

"No problem, Flo"Etsuko replied"Sorry, but I have more stuff to do now."

As she said that, she bounced right and landed behind another enemy fighter. Chinese pilot tried to escape her, but Etsuko performed High Yo-Yo and before enemy pilot noticed, she was falling on him and bullets pierced his canopy.

"Nice one"Takei said.

"Thanks"Etsuko replied"I can do more, if you want!"

Meanwhile, Misaka flew behind F-15 and quickly took him down. Not thinking a lot, she jumped on another target, with the same result. Two more fighters found themselves on the way of Misaka's bullets. Soon, they were falling down, covered by flames and smoke.

Others only watched it in awe.

"Where and when did she learned this?"Shinzo asked.

"We should ask her later"Takei proposed.

"I don't think she would like to talk to anyone"Sakamoto stated.

Misaka shot down another three enemies and landed behind fourth.

"At least, she still does her job"Osamu noticed.

Right then, everyone got news from the tower:

"We just managed to find out, what these bombers are carrying."

"So tell us"Florian said.

There was a short moment of silence, before tower replied:

"Bio-weapons."

Pilots, if they could, they would look at each other.

"Bi-weapons?"Charles asked.

"Isn't it conflict with Geneva Convention?"Sakamoto asked.

"It's China"tower simply replied"They have UN and all conventions deep in the places, where Sun doesn't reach."

Witch sighed.

"Okay, so what type of bio-weapons are they carrying?"she asked.

"Let me check…"tower said"It seems like these bio-weapons are bombs filled with…Coronavirus?"

There was another longer moment of silence between pilots. But outside their cockpits, sounds of gunfire and explosions was heard.

"Coronavirus?"Takei asked"What is it?"

"Two years ago, this virus appeared in Chinese city of Wuhan. It managed to spread from China to few other countries, but the vaccine was created and larger epidemic was stopped"Florian explained.

"Of course, before vaccine, the virus killed many people. But, fortunately, we stopped it from spreading further"Osamu added.

"However, Chinese said, that all of virus' presence in China was eliminated in 100%"Saddam said"And well. It seems like they lied."

"Nothing strange in case of Nian's rule"Luca stated.

Sakamoto simply shook her head.

"Okay. So better stop them from starting another epidemic of this virus"she said.

And as she said that, first bombers were noticed on the horizon.

"Alright. Florian. You will take care of the bombers"Skamoto stated.

"On it"Florian replied"Let's do it, people."

Four Typhoons left the battle and flew to take care of the bombers.

"O shit"tower suddenly said.

"What is it?"Takei asked.

"We just detected enemy transport planes, following the bombers"tower replied.

"Are they filled with paratroopers and vehicles?"Henri asked.

Tower was silent for a minute, before it gave the shortest answer possible:

"Yes."

Henri palmed his face.

"Just great"he said"That's everything we needed."

"Easy. We can take care of that"Charles said and connected with Florian"Florian, we have transports following the bombers. They're yours too."

"Copy that, Charles"Florian replied"Erica, Markus. Take care of the transport planes. We take care of bombers."

"Copy that"Markus replied.

"You go it, boss!"Erica replied.

The two then departed from the rest of the squadron and passed by the bombers, to take down the transports.

Shinzo dropped behind F-15 and fired one of his missiles at him. Enemy fighter changed into fireball, which crashed into another F-15.

"Hah! That's what I like to see"Shizno stated.

"That was even…cool"Takei agreed.

And this was the time when she noticed one thing: she finds it entertaining, fighting other people.

"You got this feeling?"Sakamoto asked.

"What feeling?"Takei replied.

"That fighting other people is entertaining"Sakamot replied"We all felt this feeling. For the first time, it was terrifying that it's entertaining for us. But after more and more battles, we simply stopped to pay attention to it."

Takei gulped. If it was, true, then she maybe truly shouldn't pay attention to this feeling. But it was too strong.

"Just focus on fighting. And this feeling will stop occupying your head"Sakamoto said.

She then dropped behind another F-15 and few seconds later, the fighter was shot down. Saddam and Henri 'sandwiched' another Rafele and saw it falling down. Florian fired his gun at the cockpit of B-1B and brought the bomber down, but he barely evaded fire of Tu-95 tail turret.

"That was too close"he said.

"I know, right?"Luca asked.

He then flew toward the Tu-95 that fired at Florian and fired his gun at the cockpit of it, bringing it down, like Florian did with B-1B.

"Great shot"Florian commended.

"As great as yours"Luca agreed.

Erica then used Sturm, to break one of transport planes out of it's way and it flew towards the ground. Markus fired his missile at second transport, which hit in it's back, destroying it's loading ramp. Next, Markus saw a tank flying out of the transport plane, with several paratroopers with it.

"They surely won't be dropping them anywhere"Markus said.

"But there are still more"Erica noticed.

Takei sat on tail of F-15, which flew in the direction of pyramids. It flew between them, with Takei following him. She fired her gun, with several bullets hitting pyramid.

"Oh, come on"Takei whispered.

She made a tight turn, evading the pyramid and not crashing into it. She again fired her gun, this time scoring hits on enemy fighter. When she around hundred bullets, F-15 started to fall down in flames.

"And stay like this"she said"Well, I actually start to like it."

"Told ya"Sakamoto said.

She then landed behind another F-15 and used her gun to bring it down. Osamu and Shinzo 'sandwiched' another fighter. Charles evaded gunfire from enemy Rafale and made a quick, tight turn to land behind him. Next, he used his gun to bring him down. Florian flew behind another bomber and used his missile to destroy it's tail and bring it down.

"How are you doing with those transports?"Florian asked the rest of his team.

"There is a little problem"Erica replied.

Florian rolled his eyes.

"What problem?"he asked.

"They decided to drop their soldiers and vehicles earlier. We're currently shooting down paratroopers and vehicles down. Transports decided to run"Markus explained.

"Damn it"Florian said"Okay. Destroy as many as you can in the air. Then, start to make their life hard on the ground."

"On it"Erica confirmed.

She then fired her gun at line of paratroopers. Their parachutes lost the air and Chinese soldiers started to fall down. Markus did the same with one of tanks and soon, several tons of metal started to fall towards the ground.

"Tower, this is captain Marder. We have enemy ground units landing and approaching Giza"Florian reported"My pilots will try to soften them up as much as possible."

"Copy that, captain"tower replied"Preparations are just starting."

"Understood. Keep them out of Giza and Cairo"Florian said and ended.

Next, he attacked Tu-95 from the top and bomber started to fall down. Janette and Laura 'sandwiched' another Rafale and then, they flew towards separate enemies.

"How many enemies left?"Janette asked.

"Around twenty"Sakamoto replied.

"Hope we can handle it"Takei stated.

Response was simple laugh from Mio's side.

"We handled such groups of enemies before"she replied.

"Hope you know what you're doing"Takei said.

"Of course I do."

"You always say that. Remember when…?"

"Girls, is it a good time for chatting about good old times?"Shinzo asked.

There was a silence between two Witches.

"Alright, you're right. Let's finish this and then we can talk"Sakamoto agreed.

As she said that, her gun fired a series at F-15, which quickly eliminated it from fight. Takei followed her.

"Ladies and gentleman, we've got news. Enemy Ace just appeared in the airspace. Violet Twelve"tower said.

"Copy that tower. Whoever get's the Ace, have others founding all his drinks by the next month"Sakamoto said.

"Copy that. It's gonna be me!"Henri exclaimed.

He then flew in the direction of enemy Ace, witch was J-10.

"What is it with this Ace?"Takei asked.

"Whoever gets Ace, have additional bonus. For example, he gets drinks founded by the others"Sakamoto explained"It's not easy to take down Ace and this is why are they so important to take down. I have three on my account."

"Shit, shit, shit!"Henri exclaimed.

When others looked in the direction of Henri, they saw him being chased by enemy Ace. His Rafale was clearly damaged, as flames were visible on his wings.

"We turned for literally five seconds!"Charles exclaimed.

"What can I say, he's really good!"Henri replied.

He then evaded another wave of bullets. However, several managed to score hits on his sheathing.  
"Alright, can someone save Henri?"Saddam asked.

"I'll do it"Takei proposed.

She then turned towards Henri and Violet Twelve.

"Takei, wait!"Sakamoto exclaimed.

But Takei was already on her way to meet with enemy Ace. When she reached him, she dropped behind him and opened fire. Her bullets flew towards enemy pilot, which evaded them with ease. Next, enemy Ace performed Cobra and landed behind Witch. She used her shield to block the incoming bullets. Next, she performed Cobra herself.

"No you don't"she stated.

Takei performed Cobra herself and again was behind enemy Ace. She fired again, but Chinese started to do Barrel Rolls.

"You like doing it in that way?"Takei asked.

She then started to do Barrel Rolls herself and bullets started hitting the Ace. Enemy pilot tried to bounce left, but Takei was following her.

"Damn it!"Chinese Ace exclaimed.

"Don't even try running"Takei said.

Right then, Chinese stopped doing Barrel Rolls and performed Cobra again. Takei again used her shield to stop incoming bullets.

She then looked at the pyramids and idea popped in her head.

"If you want me, then catch me"she said.

Next, she flew towards the pyramids. As she predicted, Ace followed her. She started to fly around the pyramids. Ace was trying to copy all her moves, but few times his wing scratched the rocks pyramid was made of.

" _His really obstinate on shooting me down_ "she thought.

She then changed her way of flight. Ace, blinded by the will of killing her, didn't noticed her trick.

Takei suddenly bounced left. Violet Twelve the saw pyramid wall approaching him. He tried to flew up, but it was too late.

J-10 changed into giant fireball, as it flew into pyramid. It's wreck simply rolled down the pyramid's wall.

"And you go down"Takei said.

She then joined the rest of Shinigami Squadron.

"You're first Ace"Sakamoto said"Great job."

"Hope Egyptians won't want money for the damage you just did to that pyramid"Etsuko said.

"Hope"Takei agreed.

Sakamoto landed behind another enemy fightert and managed to bring it down with her gunfire. Shinzo and Osamu 'sandwiched' F-15 and then destroyed two more. Misaka took down J-10 and then changed her target onto F-15. Charles and Janette managed to score two more kills, while Perrine used her ability to destroy another three enemy fighters.

"How many of them are still in the air?"Charles asked the tower.

"We're still detecting around twenty more"tower replied"I'm sure it's not an issue for ya, right?"

"Not at all"Charles replied.

As he said that, another enemy fighter was struck down by him. Laura and Saddam followed him, while Henri performed Cobra and landed behind another Rafale. He fired a short-range missile and scored another kill.

"How is it on the ground?"Laura asked.

"What? They haven't reached Giza yet"Erica replied, firing her gun at enemy troops and vehicles approaching their base.

She made another run and her bullets eliminated another group of enemies. One of enemy airborne tanks turned her AA machine gun towards her and fired, but she used her shield to evade it. This distracted the tank crew, which let Markus to fire missile at it and destroy it.

Florian and Luca managed to destroy more bombers. Finally, they turned around and decided to run.

"Tower, bombers are already routing. Coronavirus danger is coming back to zero"Florian reported.

"Good to hear it. Take care of remaining enemy forces and return back to base"tower replied.

"Understood"Florian said."Luca, let's help the others with fighters."

"On it, bro"Luca replied.

Two fighters turned back towards the main battle, leaving Markus and Erica behind, dealing with enemy ground units.

"Take good care of them"Florian said to the two.

"You can be sure"Markus replied, firing his gun at enemy armored car.

Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Takei again landed behind enemy fighter and brought it down with a machine gun.

"Okay, people. Let's get the hell out of here"Chinese commander ordered.

All remaining enemy fighters then turned around and started to run. However, Coalition pilots didn't wanted to let them escape.

"Perrine, you can do it, right?"Saddam asked

"Do what?"Perrine replied.

There was a moment of silence.

"You exactly know what"Saddam said.

Perrine simply nodded, although Saddam couldn't see it. Next, she activated her Familiar again and soon after, thunders flew towards the remaining Chinese fighters. Before they could orientate, thunders hit them, deactivating their systems and immediately destroying some of them. Fighters started to fall down, until they hit the ground and exploded.

Seeing their complete defeat in the air, Chinese ground troops stopped. Much to their relief, fighters harassing them from the beginning stopped firing at them. They knew, that without air support they can't do anything. From one hundred soldiers and fifty vehicles that had to land, now only twenty soldiers and ten vehicles left. They knew it's gonna be a suicide mission, but they didn't knew, that this will end like this.

"Wǒmen zuò shénme? (What do we do?)"one of soldiers asked.

"Tóuxiáng (Surrender)"his commander replied.

Then, some Chinese soldiers started to lay down their weapons. Some hesitated, but after looking at enemy fighters circling over their heads, they changed their minds.

"Tower, the remaining enemy ground forces are surrendering. Send someone to pick them up"Erica said.

"Copy that. Sending troops for them"tower replied.

All Coalition pilots then started to simply look around the former battlefield. Everywhere, they could see burning wrecks of Chinese planes. Pyramid, in which one of them hit, now had a giant trail of burning parts on it's walls. Some wrecks also crashed into nearby ruins.

Sakamoto then changed into her and Takei's personal frequency.

"So. How do you feel after your first battle?"she asked.

Takei was silent for a minute, before she replied:

"If I have to be honest, it actually is like you said. Just focus on fighting enemy fighters and it actually can be really thrilling".

"Exactly. But now, we have to do some maintenance. So better let's get back to the base"Sakamoto said and turned her aircraft around.

All fighters did the same and were now preparing to touch down.

08:21

'Anubis' base

Fighters already landed in the base and pilots exited the cockpits.

"Well, morning battle never killed anyone yet"Laura said, with smile on her face.

Others looked at her, with confusion on their faces.

"It had to be a joke"she said.

"I think we didn't got it, you know"Takei replied.

"I was saying, that it didn't killed anyone of US yet"Laura explained.

Now, everyone understood.

"So why didn't you said earlier?"Saddam asked.

"You know what? Never mind"Laura said.

Right then, a person approached them. Much to everyone's surprise, they recognized her as general Tanagowi.

"What is general Tanagowi doing here?"Osamu asked"Shouldn't she be on the carrier?"

General then stood in front of them.

"Well. I can only say, that you did the mission good"she said.

"Sorry, sir"Sakamoto said"but what are you doing here?"

"Simple. Together with Vsiliyev, we have to be in charge of our operations in the Middle East. Hope you don't mind"Tanagowi replied.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Great. Because, as I said, we're going to be stuck together by all this time"general continued"So. I want you to go with me now".

All pilots looked at each other.

"Why?"Shinzo asked.

"Because I have to show you the calendar of all your missions for the next three days, including today"Tanagowi replied with smile.

In response, all pilots groaned.

09:04

'Anubis' base, Infantry Part

Meanwhile, in the Infantry Part of the base, Saltarski was checking the state of ammo for Polish soldiers. As he was doing that, Hisako approached him. She patted his arm.

"What is it?"Saltarski asked, not looking away from his list.

"Well…"Hisako said"Better look at this.

Saltarski finally lifted his eyes and looked in the direction Hisako was pointing. And he almost widened his eyes from surprise.

In the main gate, he saw the group that went to visit the pyramids the day prior. However, except of Janos, Natalia, Pierre, Chris, Lynette and Abla, they saw a group of people, dressed in old bandages and wearing something resembling old Egyptian clothes.

The two approached them.

"Where the hell have you been?"Saltarski asked"And who the hell are they?"

Janos approached him and patted his arm.

"I'm going to tell. But be ready. It's really crazy and twisted story, you know"the Hungarian said.

Next, the whole group went to the base, with Hisako and Krystian still confused about what they just saw.

XXX

 **Finally, the Battle of Giza is done. Now, when I finally started the Middle Eastern adventures, I can assure you, that it's gonna be the longest of the different Arcs so far. And after it's over, we go back to Europe.**

Abla: You return back to Europe with useful knowledge.

 **Abla. Please, without spoilers. Everything is going to be revealed as the Arc progresses. So everything is gonna be explained. Just wait.**

Takei: We know. But if this Arc is so important, why won't you say why?

 **I already said why: Because many important story stuff is going to happen here.** **That's why, girls.**

Takei: But…

 **Anyway, that's all for today! See ya!**


	23. School Chapter4

**And School Chapter four is on. This time, we land on _Mannerheim_ and in story like in _The X Files_. Will Ellen and Eevi, with company of Suomus Witches, manage to resolve the mystery of their School Carrier? Let's find out. And as I said in the first School Chapter. Sometimes, they can be filled with some paranormal things, or even aliens.**

School Chapter 4

,,Ghost Stories"

July 24, 2022

12:56

 _Mannerheim_ , Deck 6 storage

Ellen was sitting behind her desk, with Eevi standing behind her. They both were wearing black jackets, with white 'X' attached to left sides their chests. Only Ellen was smiling, while Eevi had really tired look.

"First, I wanted to welcome new members of our club"Ellen announced.

Eila and Nikka, which were sitting at two chairs in front of desk, looked at each other. They were also wearing black jackets with white 'X' on them.

"Honestly, I planned to join the Soothsayers Club, you know?"Eila said.

"And I wanted to join Needlework Club"Nikka pointed out"I don't know myself, how I landed here".

"Me too"Eila added.

Ellen simply waved her hand.

"Doesn't matter. Only thing that matters, is that we finally managed to expand the group by two new people"she stated with bigger smile than before.

Two Witches looked at Eevi. Girl simply threw up her arms.

"Sorry"she said.

"Anyway, good that you joined our wonderful organization"Ellen stated.

Nikka then lifted her hand.

"Yes, Nikka?"Ellen asked.

"What are you doing in this club, by the way?"Nikka asked.

"Good that you asking"Ellen said, standing up"In this club, we're trying to solve biggest mysteries in our school. From monsters, through ghosts and ending at unexplained phenomena".

When they gave surprised look to Eevi, she explained to Witches:

"Ellen is big fan of _The X Files_. This is why she founded school X Files Office. To hunt, what she just said".

"Oh. Do you have any successes?"Eila asked.

"Of course"Ellen said proudly.

"No"Eevi said at the same time.

After hearing this, confused Ellen turned to her girlfriend.

"What are you talking about? Remember the Training Ground Werewolf case?"she asked.

"Turned out, that Ukko didn't shaved by too long and drunk too much"Eevi explained.

"And Engine Room Witch?"Ellen tried to find good excuse.

Nikka and Eila frowned.

"Engine Room Witch?"Nikka asked.

"Not such Witch like you. Turned out, that Elsa stuttered herself with cocaine and was frightening everyone who entered engine room"Eevi explained again.

This was final argument and Ellen just hung her head.

"No. We have no successes at all"she said sadly. But immediately regained good mood"But not for long! I know that monsters, ghosts and other such stuff exists!"

Witches again looked at each other. At the beginning, they though Ellen was the one more…calm, while Eevi was more energetic. Now, they didn't knew what to think.

"I still say what I stay with: I don't believe in ghosts or monsters"Eevi stated.

Ellen turned to her.

"Do I have to tell you this story again?"she asked.

"What story?"Eila asked, showing bits of interest.

"Ah, finally someone wants to listen"Ellen said, turning to her"You see. When I was in elementary school, I didn't believed in ghosts and such stuff too. In class, we had a guy who believed and I was always making fun of him. Of course, secretly because you know, how I was then".

They nodded. Ellen told them, how shy she was before. But after she joined the army and met Eevi, she changed into who she was now.

"Anyway. I didn't believed in ghosts. But one night, everything changed"Ellen continued.

"Oh God, it starts again"Eevi whined.

"I was alone in home, because mom was then working in Military High School Recruitment Office. She had to stay there until late night, so I decided to do something I liked. I was then eleven years old and in fourth class of elementary. But you know. I was watching some cartoons, when…"

December 5, 2015

21:43

Ellen's house, Rovaniemi

Ellen heard some rubbing noise in the kitchen and next, as something lands on the floor. She took the pilot and quieted the TV, while still listening. But such noise didn't repeated itself anymore. This time, she felt, that it's more and more colder. Well, it was normal in Finland, especially in winter, to be cold, but Ellen was sure, that she closed all windows and made fire in the stove. She was already eleven, and knew how to do it.

She jumped off of the sofa and went to investigate it. When she entered the kitchen, she turned the light on and saw, that package of corn flakes was laying on the ground. Ellen approached it and put back on the countertop.

Right then, she noticed, that window in the kitchen is open, what was strange, because she was sure she closed it. Not knowing what to do, Ellen just approached the window and closed it. When she did it, she decided to return to watching cartoons.

However, she stopped again when she was about to exit the kitchen. She swallowed. The package of flakes was not opened yet and was too heavy for wind to move it. Especially, when it was laying under different angle.

Ellen turned around and looked around the kitchen. She found nothing unusual there. So she turned the light off.

And then, she felt cold hand on her throat.

In front of her was standing a dark figure. She couldn't say if it was man or woman, but one thing was really visible: bloody red eyes. But not eyes like Ellen had due to Albinism. These were eyes showing real blood lust.

Girl managed to keep scream of fear in her throat, when she ran back to the living room, where she turned the TV off and quickly ran up stairs. When she was running next to kitchen, she looked in this direction and saw, that mysterious figure was gone.

As fast as she could, she ran to her room and closed door behind her. Next, she jumped on her bed and covered with quilt. She leaned from under the quilt, to look at the door. They had glass in upper part and Ellen saw bloody red eyes watching her bed from behind the door.

She again covered with quilt and spent all the night like that. Before she fell asleep, she heard scratching sound, as dark figure was scratching the door.

The next day, Ellen exited her room and walked down, to the kitchen, where her mother was unpacking some shopping she did on her way home.

Ellen's mother had short brown hair reaching her arms and gray eyes. She was dressed in black jacket and skirt, with gray spike heels.

When she noticed her daughter, she gave warm smile.

"Hi, mom"Ellen said, once she stood in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetie"her mother replied and kissed her in forehead.

Next, she returned to unpacking what she bought.

"Tell me, did you had any guests?"she asked.

Ellen tilted her head, don't knowing what she meant. But when she pointed on the kitchen floor, Ellen felt cold hand grabbing her heart.

On the kitchen floor, in the place, where the mysterious figure was standing, she saw footprints.

Now…

"Wow. And this really happened to you?"Nikka asked.

"Yes. Since then, I started to believe in ghosts and monsters. Fortunately, this never happened again"Ellen replied"And also I managed to watch all seasons of _The X Files_ , read some ghosts books, play some games and watch paradocumentary TV shows about it".

Eevi just snorted.

"I still don't believe in ghosts. How do I have to know, if it's not made up?"she said.

"I thought, that as my girlfriend, you believe in everything I say"Ellen said.

"If I did, you could easy hide treason".

Ellen was already trying to say, that she would never betray Eevi, but was cut off by Eila:

"Maybe it would be better, if we look for some cases to solve. At least, this is what we're doing here, right?"

"Exactly"Ellen agreed and sat down behind her desk"So. You have any ideas, what can we investigate?"

Witches widened their eyes.

"I though, that you have something"Nikka stated.

"You see"Eevi said"Since the Training Ground Werewolf and Engine Room Witch cases, nobody had any paranormal problem, so we actually just sit here, not doing anything".

Eila rubbed her chin and thought about it. Then, idea appeared in her head.

"What do you about this? We ask people from our units, if they have any problems with ghosts or monsters"she proposed.

After she said that, Eevi immediately shook her head, while Ellen energetically nodded her head.

"Cool! We meet tomorrow. Tell us, if you find anything"Ellen asked.

"Got it"Eila replied.

"Okay. Today meeting is over. You can go".

When Ellen said that, two Witches stood up and left the club meeting place, if you can call storage room filled with boxes and some useless stuff, like that. They exited corridor and turned to their rooms.

"So, you really want to hunt ghosts and monsters?"Nikka asked.

"Actually, I'm interested, if we actually manage to achieve something"Eila replied.

"Hey, wait!"Eevi exclaimed.

Witches stopped, while Eevi reached them.

"Thanks"she said.

"Thanks for what?"Nikka asked.

Eevi scratched back of her head and said:

"Well. You see…Ellen is really desperate to find some case and do not let to close this Office. She tried everything to find a case, which she can solve. Without result. But maybe, with you, we finally will have any success".

"We hope so"Nikka agreed.

"By the way, you really are skeptical about everything she tells about ghosts"Eila stated.

"Yeah. I never believed in ghosts. And I'm not going to start believe"Eevi stated, without hesitation.

Both Witches narrowed their eyes.

"Then why are you in this club?"Eila asked.

"It's simple"Eevi replied, leaning back on the wall"I want Ellen to be happy. I'm her girlfriend, but also her friend, since she started the school. Remember, when I told you, how broken she was, when her mother died?"

They nodded. Eevi once told them this story.

Ellen's mother was teacher in Finnish Defense Force High School. She moved from Recruitment Office, to have an eye on Ellen. But one day, around three months after the school started, this happened.

It was a standard history lesson, because it was Ellen's mother learned profession. Ellen's class had it. Suddenly, one of Third Year students entered the classroom and took hostages. Now, this event is known, as Finnish History Classroom Hostage Crisis.

However, for Ellen, it's known, as the day, when her mother died. She tried to sneak behind distracted attacker, but he heard as she accidentally moved the flowerpot. He turned around and shot. That day, Ellen saw, as her mother bled to death.

Ten minutes after the shot, school's anti-terrorists entered the classroom and dealt with attacker. Unfortunately, Medic, which checked Ellen's mother, stated it without doubt. Woman was dead.

After that, Ellen was completely broken. She had no one. Her father left, just when he learned, that her mother pregnant. Her mother's family stopped any contact with them, because they knew it will happen and Ellen's mother didn't wanted to listen. Only people she had close, was Eevi.

"This was the only reason I agreed on creation of this club. Hell, it was even my proposition. I wanted Ellen to turn her thoughts in different direction. And it worked. And this also helped Ellen in fighting her shyness"Eevi ended"Anyway, you know the rest. I helped Ellen in fighting shyness, she became more open and her mother's death, although still sad for everyone, was not so devastating for her".

"Okay. Now, it make's sense. But you could at least pretend to believe in ghosts"Nikka pointed out.

Eevi simply threw up her arms.

"We talk about it tomorrow, on a meeting. Be fast with finding these cases to solve"she said.

Two Witches saluted. Eevi returned the salute and they all walked in separate directions.

The next day…

09:34

X Files Office

The next day, according to plan, another meeting was set up and Witches brought some notes with them.

"And?"Ellen started"You have something?"

"Let me see"Eila said, opening her notebook"So. Lari complains about strange noises coming from behind his room's walls".

"Maybe it's someone from second room?"Eevi proposed.

But Eila shook her head.

"No. Behind the wall is just a charwoman storage"Witch explained"Meanwhile, Aadam says, that some strange creature is under his bed".

Ellen energetically nodded her head.

"Okay, we try to solve this today. And what do you have, Nikka?"Ellen turned to second Witch.

"Okay. My loader, Sauli, says, that sometimes, he sees the ghost of his grandmother, standing in his room. He wants us to take care of this"Nikka replied.

"Well then. Tell him, that we take care of this tomorrow. Today, we take these strange noises and creature under the bed"Ellen stated.

Ellen reached binder, signed as _Cases to solve and cases solved_. When she opened it, Witches saw only the cases they heard yesterday and signed _Unreal_.

Girl written the cases into headings and closed the binder.

"Good. Now, let's take care of these strange noises!"Ellen announced.

With these words, they walked out of the 'office' and turned to Lari's room.

10:11

Lari's room, Deck 3

On his walls, Lari had posters with music bands like Maroon 5 or Beatles. On his shelfs, he had some figures of superheroes like Captain America, Superman or Iron Man. There also were several comic books also with superheroes and photos.

The four was standing in front of Lari, which was leaning on the wall.

"So. How much do you want?"Lari asked, reaching his pocket.

"We actually never take money"Ellen explained.

Lari sighed and hid his wallet.

"Good"he stated.

"Anyway, about this case"Eevi came to the bottom"These noises? Can you describe them?"

"Well…"Lari started"I sometimes hear moans, scratching the wall or…or something falling on the ground. It's all coming from behind this wall. I show you".

He came up to the wall next to his bed and knocked. In response, they heard scratching sound coming from the other side.

"See? And it's happening every single night, since last week"Lari explained.

Girls nodded.

"Okay, we're gonna see what is it about"Ellen promised.

They walked out of the room, with Lari following them. They stood in front of the charwoman storage door.

"We're going inside?"Lari asked.

"Yes"Ellen simply said.

She put her hand on handle and pushed the door open. Inside, they saw darkness.

"Flashlights"Ellen ordered.

Girls reached their pockets and took miniature flashlights from there. Next, they entered the storage, everywhere seeing only charwoman equipment.

"Wow. It's bigger than I expected"Eevi said with surprise.

They walked more and more inside, still looking for the source of noise.

"Hm. I think that there's nothing…"Nikka said, but didn't ended.

Suddenly, something jumped on her head and bounced from it, landing on the floor.

When they turned around to see what it was, they saw cat running away and exiting the storage.

"So…it was a cat?"Lari stated with surprise.

"Poor little guy. I wonder, how he survived so long without food and water"Eevi stated.

When this was explained, Eila helped Nikka to get up. Whole group left the storage and closed the doors behind.

"So it was simple cat. Hm. Nothing paranormal"Ellen stated.

"Anyway, thanks for helping me in solving this"Lari said and returned to his room.

The four walked away too.

"Well. That was a bit disappointing. I really expected a ghost or…something"Eila said.

"Honestly, me too"Nikka added.

Ellen simply waved her hand.

"Doesn't matter"she stated"Let's take care of that under bed creature".

"Yeah. Maybe this will be more exciting"Eevi agreed.

With these words, they walked to see, what about Aadam's problem.

11:13

Aadam's room, Deck 6

In Aadam's room, they saw things slightly different, than Lari had. Immediately when you entered the room, you could recognize, that it's _Star Wars_ fan room. Well, you could even notice it earlier, as Aadam had even _Star Wars_ stickers on his door.

His posters presented various characters or scenes from _Star Wars_ , such as Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker, Battle of Endor or panoramas like Cloud City. On shelfs prevailed figures, books and _Star Wars: Armada_ game ships models, from _Imperial_ -class ISD through Correlian CR90 corvette, ending at massive _Executor_ -class Super Star Destroyer. As well, as several cards and other accessories to the game.

"Wow"Eila said, seeing all of this"I knew you're a fan of these _Star Wars_ , but I didn't knew, that so big".

Aadam just threw up his arms.

"You see. When you like something, you want to have many things related to it"he replied.

Ellen reached her notebook.

"Okay, Aadam"she started"Tell us. What kind of creature under the bed you have there? Some tentacle monster? Strange green hand? Or maybe even The Rake?"

But Aadam shook his head.

"Nope. Something different"he stated.

"Than what?"Nikka asked.

"See by yourself"Aadam replied.

The four came up to the bed and looked under it. There, they saw nothing.

But then, they saw two icy blue eyes. They immediately jumped back from the bed. Eila backed of so far, that she almost overturned the shelfs with figures and models.

"Hey, watch out! I spent a lot of money on these things!"Aadam exclaimed.

"Good. I'm okay, by the way"Eila said with reproach.

Ellen approached the bed. Next, she took off her boot and stepped on the bed. She pressed as strong as she could, but nothing happened.

"Well"she stated, wearing her boot back"This was unexpected".

"You have any theories?"Eevi asked.

She stood next to Ellen, wrapped her arm around her neck and they both looked at the bed.

"No"her girlfriend replied.

"Maybe we will try to lure him from there?"Nikka proposed.

The two looked at her.

"Good idea"Ellen stated"Wait there. We bring some bait".

Nikka, Eila and Aadam nodded, while Ellen and Eevi walked away.

They returned few minutes later, carrying a piece of meat from the school's kitchen with them.

"You think, that this will work?"Aadam asked.

"If not, I will shot my finger off"Ellen stated.

She put the meat next to the bed. Next, they were waiting. After 3 minutes, nothing happened. Ellen saddened.

"Well then"she said, pulling her gun from holster and aiming at her hand.

"Wait! Look!"Nikka exclaimed.

They saw small, shaggy pud, reaching from under the bed. It was pretty familiar to them.

"Oh. So this is it"Eila said, even more disappointed, than after the previous case.

Again, the answer was cat. He came out from under the bed and came up to the meat. He sniffed it. Next, he simply ran out of the room.

"I wonder, why he was sitting there so long"Aadam said"Anyway. Thanks for helping me with this thing".

"Yeah. Fine"Ellen scoffed and left the room.

She was tightening her fists, and her look was sending only lightnings.

"Wait, I'll talk to her"Eevi said.

Eila, Nikka and Aadam nodded.

After that, Eevi ran out of the room and followed Ellen. She caught up with her and put her hand on her girlfriend's arm.

"Hey, is eve…"Eevi tried to say.

"NO!"Ellen exclaimed, shaking Eevi's hand off"IT'S NOT OKAY! LIFE IS JUST MAKES JOKES OF ME! WHY JUST ONE THING IN MY LIFE CAN'T GO THE WAY I WANT! EVERYTHING ALWAYS GOES WRONG!"

Ellen then started crying. Eevi came up to her and hugged her.

"First, dad left us. Then, mom died. And I'm so useless, that I can't even solve simple case of paranormal activity, without ridicule myself"Ellen sobbed, cuddling more into Eevi.

"Hey, it's not your fault. These cats are just everywhere"Eevi said softly.

And it was true. It was estimated, that around five thousand cats could be found on the ships, all of them from the ports _Mannerheim_ was ever stopping in.

"I know, but…I want to also find any ghosts or monsters. So you could believe in them"Ellen explained.

This time, Eevi frowned.

"What do you mean by this?"she asked.

"It's simple. I hate, when you tell me, that I lie, when I'm telling you about that one night in my house"Ellen explained.

Eevi then understood. Ellen always wanted to show her that ghosts and monsters exist, because she wasn't been believing in that story. Even though Eevi was responsible for creation of their club, she never liked it. She always was realist and never believed in magic, aliens and especially ghosts. She accepted Ellen's interest in paranormal activities, only because she loved her.

She then leaned and kissed Ellen. Ellen calmed down a little and looked at her.

"I'm sorry"Eevi said"I should believe you from the beginning. But dad always was telling me, that if I have to get as high as he, I should always think about what is happening in reality".

"You dad is wise man, but sometimes…"Ellen replied, didn't wanting to end.

Eevi's father, Kari Nieminen, was know in all of school mainly because…he was headmaster. Although he was sometimes hard and tried to keep discipline in the school, truly he was warm and care taking man, as he was educating Eevi alone, after her mother left, which was another thing, which connected Eevi with Ellen.

"Anyway. We still have one case to solve tomorrow, aren't we?"Eevi asked.

"Yeah"Ellen agreed"Maybe this one will be more successful".

With these words, the two went to their room.

21:32

Deck 5, Room 22

Emma sat on the bed next to her sister, trying to lay her down to sleep. However, Laina still refused to.

"Little girls needs a lot of sleep"Emma said.  
"I know"Laina replied"But monsters…"

Emma patted younger sister's head.

"How many times I have to tell you? Monsters aren't real, sis"she said.

"But…the wardrobe…"Laina continued.

"…is a simple wardrobe"Emma ended"Now, go to sleep. We're going to see tomorrow".

Because so many rooms on the ship were empty, Emma asked the headmaster, if she can place Laina in room next to hers.

Emma stood up and came to the door. She opened it, but before she left, Laina said:

"And light?"

Older sister stopped and put her hand on light switch. She pressed it few times and wanted to leave, but Laina stopped her again:

"Always five times".

"Okay"Emma replied and switched the light one more time.

"Please, save me from the monsters"Laina said"Please, save me from the monsters. Please, save me from the monsters".

"Everything is gonna be okay, right? Bye then"Emma said and left the room.

By few seconds, Laina was sitting on her bed in complete darkness. Finally, she laid down, with flashlight in her hand. She turned the flashlight on and started to light up the room, still whispering:

"Please, save me from the monsters. Please, save me from the monsters…"

Only sound, which could be heard in her room, was a sound of the elevator. Laina tried to cover her ears, to not hear this sound.

"Please, save me from the monsters"she continuously said.

Suddenly, sound of elevator disappeared. But it was replaced by another sound. Laina's flashlight was directed on wardrobe. She started to shake, as doors started to shake too. She turned her flashlight off, but saw a white light coming from wardrobe.

"Please, save me from the monsters! Please, save me from the monsters!"Laina pleaded louder"PLEASE, SAVE ME FROM THE MONSTERS!"

Ellen and Eevi's room

Ellen sat on her bed. She looked around, but everything that surrounded her, was just darkness and silence.

"I swear I heard something"she whispered.

She looked at Eevi laying beside her. Eyes started to get used to darkness, so Ellen could see her girlfriend. Eevi opened her eyes and sat on the bed too.

"Did something happened?"she asked.

"No, it's just…I swear, that I heard someone saying 'Please, save me from the monsters'"Ellen replied.

Eevi wrapped her arms around Ellen's neck.

"I'm sure you just just a dream"she said.

"I know, but…still. It was so realistic"Ellen replied"Maybe it's some kind of call?"

"Eh. Just come to sleep, okay? I want you to warm me up even more".

Ellen smiled.

"Didn't I warmed you up enough by all these years?"she asked.

Her girlfriend kissed her neck.

"I will never have enough of your warm"Eevi whispered"We're gonna think about your dream tomorrow, with Nikka and Eila, okay?"

With nod of Ellen, the conversation ended. Ellen laid down beside Eevi again and the two kissed.

July 26

12:32

The X Files office

When Ellen told Witches about this 'call' she heard, the two started thinking.

"Tell us. It was child or adult voice?"Eila asked.

"Child. I'm sure of this"Ellen replied"Why you want to know?"

Eila simply threw up her arms.

"From curiosity"she replied.

"Anyway"Eevi said"I still think it was just a dream. Such things as telepathic calls can happen only in movies".

Ellen simply shook her head.

"Have more faith"she said.

In that moment, they heard the door knock. Door opened and a girl entered the office.

"Emma?"Ellen asked"What are you doing here?"

"Well…"Emma started"I wanted to ask you for help".

She looked at two Witches.

"I see, that you finally pulled someone else into this. And Witches themselves"she said.

"Who is she?"Nikka asked.

"Emma, our classmate, Eila and Nikka, the Witches"Ellen introduced"Wanna sit?"

She pointed at the third chair, standing next to the ones Eila and Nikka were sitting on. Emma nodded and sat on it.

"So"Ellen started, folding her fingers together"what brings you here?"

"You see…"Emma started"It's about my little sister, Laina. She has some…problems".

"Sorry, but we're not taking care of child problems"Ellen said.

However, Emma shook her head.

"No, no, no. I mean…Eh. She's scared of everything. She says, that there are monsters in her wardrobe and every night she screams the same sentence…"

"What sentence?"Ellen suddenly became interested.

Emma looked in her eyes.

"Please, save me from the monsters".

There was a moment of silence. Ellen and Eevi looked at each other, then on Witches. Something strange was happening here.

"You think…?"Ellen asked.

He girlfriend simply threw up her arms.

"Sure, we take care of this"Ellen agreed.

When she said that, remaining three X Files members looked at her with surprise, while Emma's face was lightened by smile.

"Thank you. Could you come somewhere around 21:30? It's often the time, when it happens"she asked.

"Of course. We'll be there"Ellen promised.

With simple nod, Emma left the office. Eevi and Witches looked at her.

"What?"Ellen asked.

"So. You really are going to take care of this?"Eevi asked.

"Yeah. Somethings wrong?"

"You want to take care of this, only because you had that dream".

Ellen simply threw up her arms.

"No, I don't"she said.

"What if it's just coincidence? Your dream and this, what Laina says?"Eila asked.

"I'm sure it doesn't".

Girl stood up and walked up to a binder, laying on shelf. She returned to her desk with it and opened the binder. Next to case they had to take care of today, she written SUSPENDED. Witches saw other two cases from yesterday. They were signed UNREAL. Next, she wrote the case in the binder.

"Alright. We can start taking care of this case"she said.

Without anymore words, Ellen stood up and left. Witches and Eevi looked at each other and simply sighed. Then, they walked away too.

21:10

Deck 5, Room 21

Emma entered the room, carrying the tray with cups and jug of tea. She put it on her desk and sat on bed, looking at Ellen, Eevi, Eila and Nikka. Laina was sitting beside her.

"So…why have you came earlier?"Emma asked.

"Simple"Ellen replied"We wanted to also ask you some questions".

"Oh"Emma said.

She then felt pulling on her uniform sleeve. She looked at Laina.

"Will they throw out the monsters?"Laina asked.

"Of course they will. I promise"Emma replied, stroking Laina's head.

Once more, she looked at the X Files team.

"So. What do you want to know?"

"From the beginning"Eevi said"When this all begun?"

"Hm. Around four years ago"Emma said.

Ellen nodded.

"And what is she scared of?"she asked.

"As I said. Of everything. When someone is using the elevator, she just can't sleep. And I always have to do some things, that have to stop monsters from coming".

"Things like…?"Eila asked.

"For example, I always have to turn off the light five times".

"This makes monsters less sure"Laina added.

The four nodded. Ellen turned to Eevi and Eila:

"Could you look for something in Laina's room?"

"And what do we have to look for?"Eila asked.

"Something unusual"Ellen instructed.

With nod, the two left the room. When this happened, they almost collided with a boy entering the room.

"Sorry"Eila said.

"Just get off my way"he said.

The two let the boy enter the room and went to Laina's room.

The boy stood in front of Emma.

"What do you want again?"Emma asked.

"The same as always"He then pointed at Laina"I want her to stop screaming out loud! Since you have her in that room, I haven't slept well!"

"But what can I do about it? It's not my…"

"I don't care! If she continue to scream like that, I will throw her into the ocean. I promise".

After he said it, he simply turned around and left, not paying attention on Ellen and Nikka. They looked at Emma.

"Sorry"Emma said"It was Laina's neighbor from upper deck. Laina screams so loud, that even he can't sleep and…you saw".

"You should tell it to police"Nikka stated"He can't threaten a little child".

"I just…want to take care of this in different way. This is why I called you"Emma explained.

Nikka and Ellen nodded.

Room 22

Eevi and Eila already entered Laina's room. They turned the light on and saw nothing more, than shelfs filled with photos, books and toys laying around. But everything else looked like simple, standard school's room.

"It doesn't look like it was haunted"Eila stated.

"I know. But well. Maybe, we actually find something interesting in there"Eevi replied.

She then reached for the photo album. She opened it at random page and started to look at photos.

"What do you have there?"Eila asked.

"Photo album. Maybe I…"she stopped.

Eila looked at the same photo as Eevi. On it, Emma was with her parents. They were all dressed in Christmas sweaters.

"Something wrong?"Witch asked in interest.

"Yeah"Eevi replied"Emma one time showed this photo album to the class. She said, that on this photo, her mother was in fifth month of pregnancy".

She pointed at the woman, which was Emma's mother.

"Does she look like she was pregnant?"she asked.

Eila looked closer at the photo. Actually. Emma's mother didn't had any signs, showing that she was pregnant at the time.

"Maybe she just made a mistake?"Witch asked.

"No. She was really sure about it"Eevi stated.

The two looked at each other.

"Then what the…"Eila wanted to ask, but didn't managed to.

Wardrobe suddenly opened, with strange white light coming out of it. Before they could orientate, the wardrobe started to literally pull them in.

"What is going on?!"Eila exclaimed.

"I don't know! Hang on!"Eevi replied.

Right then, the white light absorbed them and wardrobe closed.

Later…

Eila and Eevi started to open their eyes. They sat up and looked around, seeing, that they landed in simple corridor.

"Where are we?"Eila asked.

"It looks like an old, Victorian Era house"Eevi replied.

Without covering surprise, Eila looked at her.

"I like to read about different eras architecture"Eevi explained.

"Okay. But how did we landed there?!"Eila exclaimed.

"I dunno. But we have to somehow get out of there"Eevi replied.

The two stood up and looked around. Eila came up to the wall and knocked it.

"What are you doing?"Eevi asked.

"I'm looking for secret door"the Witch replied.

Eevi just shook her head.

"Better let's look for something, what can help us get out oh here"she said.

Witch simply threw up her arms and followed Eevi.

They entered through door to bigger room. There was table filled with tablewear and candles.

"Oh, something to eat"Eila said, pointing at fruits in bowl.

She grabbed an apple and tried to bite it. However, when she did it, she immediately regret that, as her teeth stopped on hard surface.

"Hey, what's wrong with it?"she asked.

Eevi came up to her and took the apple. She the knocked the table with it and noticed one thing.

"It's made of wood"she stated.

"Wood?"confused Eila asked.

She grabbed the nearest plate and cutlery.

"This is made of wood too"Eila said.

"Why is everything like that?"Eevi asked.

Eevi was then understood.

"You know, I think I have the answer"she said"And you're not gonna like it".

"Just say it"Eila pressed.

With scratching back of her head, Eevi said:

"Well, you see. Emma once told, that Laina hides her toys in this wardrobe".

"She tells you many things".

"She always liked to talk with others. Anyway. Among these toys is dollhouse…"

"Yeah, and?"

"Add two to two. We landed in Victorian Era house, where everything is made of wood".

At the beginning, Eila didn't knew, where Eevi was going to. But then, she actually added two to two and everything became clear.

"We're in the dollhouse?!"she exclaimed"How?!"

"Remember this white light from wardrobe?"Eevi asked.

"Oh"Eila said"Now it makes sense. Anyway, better let's go and find a way to get out of there".

Witch nodded. She followed Eevi, which left the room.

Eyes of mysterious figure standing in the door, through which they entered, followed them, until the room was empty.

Meanwhile…

Room 21

Ellen, Emma, Nikka and Laina were still sitting in Emma's room, waiting on Eevi and Eila. However, the two still haven't returned.

"Enough"Ellen stated"Better let's go and look for them".

They all stood up and walked to the next door. However, when they entered, they saw no one in there.

"Where are they?"Nikka asked"Aren't they supposed to be there?"

"Yes, they were"Ellen replied.

Then, Ellen felt someone pulling her sleeve. When she looked in that direction, she saw Laina.

"Maybe monsters caught them?"the girl asked.

"No, maybe they went to look for some information in school's archives"Ellen replied, but she didn't believed in it either.

Nikka, in the meantime, saw the photo album laying on the ground. She came up to it and took from the ground.

"At least we know, that they were looking for something in this album"the Witch said"But I don't think, that they would simply throw it on the ground like that".

"Then where are they?"Emma asked.

"Monsters have them"Laina whispered.

Ellen shook her head.

"Whatever happened, we find out later. Now, let's get back to your room. We need to discuss some things there"she stated.

Everyone nodded and returned to Emma's room. But before Ellen left, she once again looked at the photo album.

"Maybe better try to find, what interested Eevi and Eila there"she asked herself.

The three returned to Emma's room.

Back with Eevi and Eila…

The two continued to walk through the house, until they finally reached the main entrance. Eila ran up to the door and tried to open them. However, no matter how hard she tried, the door remained locked.

"What do we do now?"Eila asked.

"I think we have to wait, until Ellen and the others figure out, what happened to us"Eevi replied.

In that moment, they heard a childish laugh and patter of feet. They looked around.

"What was that?"the Witch asked.

"I don't think I wanna know"Eevi replied.

It happened once more and door on the second side of hall opened a little.

"Should we check it?"Eevi asked.

"Better have this behind us"Eila replied.

Slowly they started to come up to the door. Eevi felt her hands shaking. Same Eila. But when they stood in front of the door, Eevi took a deep breath and put her hand on handle.

She wrenched the door to reveal…a peg doll, as high as them. The two jumped away, when this happened.

"Wait"Eevi said"It's just a doll".

"Then why is it so big?"Eila asked.

"We're in the dollhouse, remember?"

Eila once more looked at the doll.

"Oh, right. I forgot"she admitted.

"Okay. Better let's go to find a way to get outta here"Eevi stated.

Eila nodded and followed her, as they left the hall.

Doll's eyes followed them.

At the same time…

Over Laina's room

Laina's neighbor was sitting on his bed, watching TV. He hoped, that this night, he will finally get some sleep. But honestly, he doubted it.

"At least, I have TV to watch"he whispered.

And then, one of his books fell off the shelf. He approached it and placed back on the shelf. However, another one fell, so he did the same again.

"What is going on?"he asked.

He tried to go back on his bed, but discovered, that he can't move. When he looked down at his legs, his jaw almost dropped from fear.

Floor was literally absorbing him. His feet were already under it, while it continued to pull him down.

"Hey, let me go!"he exclaimed.

But the floor continued to absorb him. It wasn't been a long time, when he fully disappeared under it.

In the dollhouse

Eevi and Eila continued their travel around the house. And still, they couldn't find any other exit from it.

"How long do we have to sit here?"Eila wined.

"Ellen surely will save us"Eevi replied.

Witch looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you putting so much hope in her?"she asked.

"Because she never failed me, that's why".

Suddenly, someone ran out from around the corner. When the person stood in front of them, they recognized him as the guy they almost collided with, when they went to Laina's room.

"Help me get out of here!"he exclaimed.

However, before the two could answer, something else happened.

From the darkness behind him, another doll emerged and grabbed him. Eevi and Eila jumped back, when doll turned around to two more dolls. Next, the guy started to shake and change. When doll released him…he was one of dolls.

Eevi and Eila looked at each other. Dolls looked at them too.

"Run!"Eevi ordered.

Witch nodded. They turned around and started to run down the corridor, with dolls easily following them.

"Being killed by dolls!"Eevi exclaimed"Oh, irony!"

"What do you mean?"Eila asked.

"When I was six, I liked to do experiments on dolls!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Hey, I was kid, which wanted to know anything about the world!"

"There!"

They entered a room, where only fireplace was. They closed the door, but dolls started to push on them.

"Please, Ellen!"Eevi pleaded"Hurry up!"

Back with Ellen and Nikka…

The four was sitting in Laina's room once more. Ellen wanted to check some more things, but once they got there, she started to look into the photo album.

"What are you looking for in that album?"Emma asked for the tenth time.

"Something, which is not on place"Ellen replied for the tenth time.

She was looking page after page, until she landed on the same page Eevi did. There, she saw that photo.

"Tell me…"Ellen turned to Emma"You're sure, that your mom was then pregnant?"

"What?"Emma asked, standing up.

Ellen showed her the photo.

"Somethings not right. You told to whole class, that your mom was pregnant then. Meanwhile, on this photo, we don't see any signs of it"she explained.

"No, no. I'm sure she was pregnant then. You probably just see wrong"Emma said.

However, Ellen simply closed the album. Both she and Nikka sent meaning look to Emma.

"Tell us, what are you hiding"Ellen ordered.

Emma shook her head.

"I'm not hiding everything, really"she replied.

"This photo is against what you said"Nikka stated"I think".

"But…"

"Sergeant, I order you to tell us!"

"Mom didn't wanted to have second child!"Emma finally broke.

Silence hung in the air between them.

"What did you said?"Nikka asked.

"Mom was in second pregnancy, but she miscarried. Because of that, she was afraid of having the second child once more"Emma explained.

Silence again hung in the air. Everyone turned towards Laina, which was sitting on her bed.

"What are you?"Ellen asked.

In response, wardrobe behind them opened and white light showed up inside. It started to pull them inside.

"Laina, what's happening?!"Emma shouted to her sister.

Laina simply looked at her, without saying anything.

The three tried to oppose the power pulling them inside, but more they tried, more they were pulled inside. Finally, light absorbed them and wardrobe closed.

Inside the dollhouse

Ellen, Nikka and Emma woke up and noticed, that they're on the floor. They quickly stood up and looked around. It was a dining room, with long table in the middle. On the ceiling they saw a chandelier.

Emma started to walk around, don't knowing what just happened.

"How could I forget, that mom didn't wanted to try to have second child again?"she asked"Shit, I was there!"

"Tenza"Ellen stated.

Witch and Emma looked at her.

"What?"Nikka asked.

"Tenza. Alien entity. Empathic creature, which took form of Emma's desired sister by perception filter. Something like cuckoo's egg"Ellen explained.

"How do you know that?"Emma asked.

Girl threw up her arms.

"I read some articles about it. On ufologists forums"she replied.

Right then, Emma's eyes stopped on the candlestick, made up of five candles. Candles then started to light up and fade, from left to right.

"Five times"Emma noticed"I always turn off the light that many times".

"Tenza can lock up it's fears in everywhere it want. In this case, the wardrobe"Ellen explained.

"Okay, fine and anything, but where are we?"Nikka asked.

The three again looked around.

"Laina's dollhouse"Emma stated"She held it in the wardrobe. Her favorite dolls are the peg dolls".

"How many of them are there?"Ellen asked.

"Four. Why?"

In response, Ellen pointed at door behind Emma. Girl turned around, only to see two dolls standing in the doorway.

"Is there any possibility, that Laina's dreams about monsters could come onto dolls?"Emma asked.

"Yes"Ellen simply replied.

After she said that, dolls started to move towards them.

"Should we stay here?"Nikka asked.

"No"Ellen simply replied again.

Without anymore words, the three turned towards the door on second side of dining room and ran away. However, the dolls managed to catch up with them.

"Why are they so fast?!"Nikka exclaimed.

"I have to know?!"Ellen replied.

They then just passed a pair of giant scissors. An idea appeared in Ellen's head.

"Emma, grab the scissors!"she ordered.

Girl did what Ellen ordered and took the scissors.

"Now, try to keep them on the distance!"

Emma nodded and started to do her task.

With Eevi and Eila…

Dolls continued to push on the door. Eevi and Eila were almost out of strength and doors started to slowly open.

"Any ideas?"Eila asked.

Eevi quickly scanned the room, when her eyes stopped on the wooden beam laying on the floor. An idea popped in her head.

"Open the door"she said.

Witch looked at her with fear in her eyes.

"Are you insane?! You saw, what these peg dolls did with that guy!"she shouted.

"Just take that beam and open!"

When Eevi said that, Eila finally understood.

"Hope it'll work"she said.

Eila grabbed the beam and stood in front of the door, Eevi behind her. Door started to open, until peg dolls started to enter inside.

With scream on her mouth, Eila started to charge towards the dolls, swinging the beam left and right, pushing them from the way. Eevi smiled, seeing her idea working perfectly.

"Yes! I knew this…!"

But before she could end, she felt wooden arm grabbing her waist. Peg doll turned her around, while she started screaming. Eila stopped and turned in that direction, just to see Eevi being changed into one of peg dolls.

"Fuck…"Witch whispered.

She quickly shook herself off of trance and ran away, still pushing the dolls back with beam.

With Ellen, Nikka and Emma…

The three girls still continued to escape from dolls, with Emma still keeping the dolls at the distance. However, dolls still tried to catch them and this task was more and more harder. Emma turned to Ellen:

"You have anymore ideas?"

"Try to find the rest and then, think of something!"Ellen replied.

They directed on the nearby stairs and started to climb them backwards. Ellen heard the footsteps coming from the upper side of the stairs. She turned around and smiled, seeing Eila doing the same as Emma, but with beam.

"Eila! Thank God, you're okay!"Ellen exclaimed, but then realized"Where's Eevi?"

Eila pointed at the group of dolls she was pushing away. Ellen looked at it and her heart tightened, when she understood, that there are six dolls around them, instead of four Emma was talking about. She immediately knew, what happened to Eevi.

"No…"she whispered.

"You avenge her later! Now, focus on finding a way out of this!"Emma shouted.

Dolls were closer and closer, while The X Files and Emma had less and less space on the stairs.

"I have and idea"Ellen suddenly said.

"Then do it!"Eila exclaimed.

She pushed back another doll, but two more were coming closer.

Ellen looked up and started shouting:  
"Laina! Open the door!"

Meanwhile…

Laina's room

Laina was sitting on her bed, with head hung down. She still was shaking, thinking about what happened to Emma and others.

"Laina! Open the door!"

Girl lifted her head after hearing the voice. She looked around, but didn't saw anyone. But voice repeated itself.

"Please, open the door!"

She looked in the direction of the wardrobe, from where the voice was coming from. She got off the bed and started to slowly walk up to the wardrobe, with the voice accompanying her. With hesitation she grabbed the wardrobe doors handle and…

Back in the doll house

"I don't see it in very good light"Eila stated.

Witch was already feeling Ellen's backs touching her, while dolls continued to move closer and closer, while four girls had less and less space. Emma actually almost stopped to swing the scissors and push back the dolls. They started to reach towards them with their hands. Emma could already feel doll's hand touching her face…

Everything stopped. Dolls simply stood there in front of them, just watching. Four girls looked at each other.

"What is happening?"Emma asked.

In that moment, Ellen smiled, seeing who was standing next to the stairs. Others followed her sight and smiled too.

"Laina, you did it! You opened the door!"

Girl simply nodded her head in response.

But this joy was quickly cut off. Dolls lost interest in Eila, Nikka, Ellen and Emma, turning their attention towards Laina. They passed them and walked down the stairs, wanting to catch the girl.

"What are they doing?"Emma asked.

"Laina is the source of this all"Ellen replied"In other words, they want to probably eliminate her, so…"

Emma looked at Ellen with fear in her eyes.

"Eliminate?!"she exclaimed.

And before Ellen could answer, Emma was already running towards Laina, breaking through the dolls. She reached her, before first doll touched her. Emma fell on her knees and hugged Laina.

"If they want to kill her, they have to kill me too"Emma stated.

But, much to her surprise, nothing happened. She looked around, to see the dolls simply standing around them.

"What the…?"Emma asked.

"This"Ellen said, walking down the stairs"is what you had to do. All effects caused by Tenza can be stopped only when you accept it. And you did it".

"Of course I did"Emma stated"Alien or not, she still is…my little sister".

Emma again turned to Laina and hugged her more.

"Anyway, how do we have to get out of here?"Eila asked.

In response, a blue portal opened in the middle of the room.

"Oh. Fine with me"Witch stated,throwing her arms up.

"Let's get out of her"Nikka said.

Everyone except of Ellen went to the portal. Nikka noticed it.

"You're not going?"she asked.

"Eevi"Ellen replied.

Nikka looked at the doll Ellen was pointing at.

"Oh. Right. Join us, when you need"Nikka said and disappeared in portal.

Meanwhile, Ellen approached the Eevi doll. She grabbed her hand and looked into the empty black eyes.

"I'm so sorry"Ellen whispered.

Doll simply looked at the girl.

And then, s white light flashed, blinding Ellen for a while. When she regained her vision, she couldn't believe in what was in front of her.

Eevi was massaging her head, while looking around. Her eyes stopped on Ellen.

"What actually happened?"Eevi asked.

Without saying any word, Ellen hugged Eevi and whispered:

"I'll tell you later. Now, let's go out of there".

And, without extending, they walked through the portal, leaving the dollhouse once and for all.

Later that night…

Ellen and Eevi were sitting in their room, taking care of their own stuff. Since they returned from the dollhouse, they had only one conversation.

"So…"Eevi started"I was…?"

"Yes"Ellen simply replied.

Next, she came up to Eevi and hugged her.

"I'm so happy you're okay"she said.

"You know me. I'll never get killed so easy"Eevi replied.

Ellen hugged Eevi harder.

"Now you believe me about ghosts?"she asked.

"Of course I do"Eevi replied"After everything that happened lately".

"Good. Really good"Ellen stated"Wanna go to sleep now?"

Eevi simply nodded her head. Soon, the two was sleeping in their beds.

XXX

 **And another School Chapter goes. I said, that School Chapters can have some paranormal activities and there they are. Now, next chapter will focus on French military High School.**


	24. Chapter 20

**And here we are, in the second part of Middle Easter Arc. We're now entering a more interesting area. More precisely, Coalition is now finally pushing more and more deep into Middle East, liberating another cities.**

Annika: Finally, here we come Israel!

 **Exactly, Ann. But story is story and it's more important, unfortunately.**

Annika: (sad Israeli noises)

 **Easy. There is a mission in Israel approaching, so don't be sad. As you have the very important city to liberate.**

Annika: You mean…?

 **I mean…**

Chapter 20

"Guardians of the Middle East Pt.2: The Holy City"

November 12, 2022

11:02

Tel Aviv, Israel

Coalition troops marched through the streets of Tel Aviv, with civilians cheering for them. Soldiers, in response, were waving to them. Alongside soldiers, vehicles were driving, sometimes with more soldiers sitting on them.

The last dozen or so days were spent on counteroffensive in Israeli and Jordan territories. During these, Coalition managed to finally push Chinese away from the Egyptian border and finally start the liberation of Middle East. Although Chinese were putting on fierce resistance, alongside with Guardians of the Middle East, counteroffensive was a full success and now, almost all of Israel and half of Jordan, including it's capital, were finally liberated.

And when it comes to Tel Aviv, everything went easier than in other cases, as Chinese simply ran away, leaving the city open and without garrison.

"Sometimes I like to be the savior, you know?"Suwa stated, sitting on B1 Centauro armor.

"I have to agree with your statement, Su"Nakajima replied.

Right then, a flower landed next to her. She picked it up and smiled.

"Saviors always have the best"she stated.

In that moment, the main hatch opened and Federica looked at them. She took off her goggles and smiled.

"See, that you have pretty good fun out here"she stated.

"You see, boss. As long as we have this your thing, we can drive on it"Suwa replied.

"And did I let you sit here?"Federica continued to ask.

"No. But our legs are tired after all this running from building to building"Nakajima replied.

Federica then smiled and hid back in the tower. She looked at the rest of the crew.

"Fernandia, load the gun"Federica ordered.

Fernandia nodded and grabbed one of shells. She loaded it to the main gun and showed the thumbs up.

"Martina, do the rest"she said to Martina.

Without hesitation, Martina lifted the gun and turned the tower, so the gun was next to Suwa and Nakajima. Martina then smiled.

"Let's do some show!"she exclaimed.

She pressed the firing button and the shell flew over the buildings. However, when it fired, the sound of gunfire also shook Nakajima and Suwa off of the armor. Two Witches fell on the street, making soldiers walking alongside Centauro laugh. People on the sides of the street started to laugh too.

Witches lifted their heads and looked at the tank destroyer, from which Federica was looking at them.

"That was so uncool!"Nakajima shouted to her.

"You see, this is how it is! Never underestimate tank destroyers!"Federica shouted back.

Next, she again hid in the tower. Soldiers stopped laughing and simply passed by two Witches. They stood up and followed the rest of the city liberation column.

"We'll see if it was so funny another day"Suwa stated.

Next, the column continued their march, until they reached the Tell Aviv Port, where they stopped.

12:22

Tel Aviv Port

After the cheering for liberators ended, Coalition forces simply went into the city to take care of everything, that Chinese left, in form of propaganda posters, symbols of Chinese power and administration or to take care of any possible Chinese, that somehow left in the city, when it was evacuated by the main command.

In the port, Coalition set up a temporary base of operations for further offensive towards Iraq and Iran.

"So, our situation currently look like this"Vasiliyev started, standing over the map, placed on the mask of GAZ Tigr"Currently, we have control over almost entire Jordan and full control over Israel. Chinese are falling back in thousands, leaving behind free and opened cities. In other words, they're making our job hell a lot easier".

"Or simply they are making us lose our attention. Fall back as far as possible and then launch a hard and powerful counteroffensive"Pierre stated.

"Like Germans did in 1944"Lina added.

Russian general looked at them and nodded.  
"I have to agree with you here. Chinese are really clever beasts"he said"To it, we have to add, that they have a full million of Arabian soldiers. In other words, we have to deal with more Arabs than Chinese".

But Michael, which also took part in the meeting, waved his hand.  
"This won't make any problem. Chinese are the ones using modern equipment. GME is mainly equipped with old Soviet-era weapons. We don't have to afraid of them very much"he stated.

"But remember one thing: Guardians prefer to use quantity instead of quality"Pierre said.

"But quality often wins over quantity"Michael replied with full sureness.

Others simply looked at him with meaningful looks.

"And you wonder, why so many people hates you, Americans"Vasiliyev stated.

"I'm just saying, that we won so many fights before. So we should be also able to win and take care of this situation quickly"Michael replied.

In that moment, Minna, Rall and Federica approached them.

"Thank you for joining us"Vsiliyev said.

"No problem, general"Rall replied"So. What is the case?"

Vasiliyev again looked at the map and showed it to Witches.

"As you can see, our control over the Levant is becoming more and more certain. But there still is a thing"he said and pointed at a single city, placed on Israeli-Jordan border"Jerusalem".

Witches looked at the dot, representing the city on the map.

"Why can't someone else take care of this?"Federica asked.

"Because Israelis are really keen on taking it back. Jerusalem is very important for every religion in the Middle East and taking it back might be also very good for boosting our morale. Especially among Muslim and Jewish troops"Vasiliyev replied.

"Is this city really so important?"Rall asked.

"It's been object of fighting since early Medieval times. You think that why Crusades took place, huh?"Pierre asked.

Witches looked at each other. They had to agree with this one. In schools, they already had the lessons focused on Medieval times and the Holy Crusades. However, they knew all of them failed.

"So it seems, that we're going to start the…"Michael thought a bit"Which Crusade is this gonna be?"

"Eighth. But now, without killing Saracens"Lina replied.

"Of course. They're our allies after all"Michael said.

Everyone looked at him with strange look. Michael didn't knew, why they were looking at him like that.

"If that was supposed to be a joke, then you screwed it up"Vasiliyev said.

"I…"Michael tried to say, but simply waved his hand and stopped talking.

Vasiliyev rolled the map and looked at everyone.

"Alright. We have to move out for Jerusalem in the next two days, after we take care of all remaining stuff here. This is gonna be the fight, that mark our victory in the Battle of Levant. So, better be ready"he said.

Everyone saluted and walked in separate directions.

When Vasiliyev was left alone, a phone rang in his pocket. He reached it and accepted the call.

"Yes?"

He waited for an answer. When it came, he nodded his head.

"I'm not ready yet. But trust me. I'll give you a sign, when I'll be"general replied.

Next, he ended the call and hid the phone back in his pocket.

12:30

Bridge over Jarkon River

Barkhorn's Leopard 3A2 was parked on the bridge. It was guarding the cross point from any possible Chinese soldiers left in the city, trying to cross the river and escape. Job was boring, as nobody tried it.

Ursula was standing next to the tank, with assault riffle in her hand. Because she was driver, her job was the less needed now, so she had to guard the road and stop any vehicle trying to drive over the bridge.

"You got anything?"Conny asked.

Her sister shook her head.

"Nobody is going this way. And I don't think anybody will in the next few hours"Ursula replied.

"Shouwd I join you?"

"No, thanks. Take care of your job, sis".

Conny nodded and hid back into the tower. There, she was sitting together with Barkhorn and Michael.

"Man, it's so hot in there"Michael stated.

He took his helmet off and instead, wrapped a bandana on his head.

"Agree"Barkhorn simply replied.

She, on the other hand, took off her jacket and wrapped it around her waist. Her helmet was laying next to her.

"Where is our support, by the way?"Michael asked.

"Marseille should be here around ten minutes ago"Barkhorn said"But I don't think they're gonna be her soon".

Marseille was assigned to the same bridge as Barkhorn. Like with other bridges, two tanks had to guard each one. But, as Barkhorn said, Marseille was supposed to be the earlier. Yet, there was still no trace of her tank.

"Guys, we have our tank incoming"Ursula reported.

Everyone in the tower looked at each other. Witch opened her tower hatch and looked through it. And, as she guessed, it was Marseille's tank approaching them.

"There she is"she whispered.

Tank stopped on the opposite side of the road. Now, the only way through the bridge was a corridor between two tanks with German markings. Marseille opened the hatch and looked at Barkhorn. Like her, she had jacked wrapped around her waist.

"Sup, Siscon?"Marseille asked immediately.

Barkhorn rolled her eyes. Honestly, it wasn't annoying anymore. It was just frustrating and Barkhorn simply couldn't focus on her job. Explosions of anger she had earlier, whenever Marseille called her Siscon, simply stopped to occur.

Which made Marseille angry, as she had real joy from seeing mad Barkhorn.

"Could you just once more explode, just like earlier?"Marseille asked.

"I could"Barkhorn replied"But I don't want to. This war already made me immune for whatever you're saying".

This time, it was Marseille, who rolled her eyes.

"I know, I know. Okay, just let's do our job and get the hell out of there"she said.

Jens exited his tank, also equipped with assault riffle. He came up to Ursula and stood next to her.

"Sup?"he asked.

"Nothing important. Simple boring bridge"Ursula replied.

Meanwhile, Barkhorn eyed Marseille's tank. She noticed, that it's suspiciously clean. Her eyes went back on Afrika Korps Witch.

"You know, that you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago?"she asked.

"Yes. But we had something to do"Marseille replied.

"What?"

"We had to clean our tank. You know, how much dust settled on it? We used ten buckets of water to clean in properly".

Barkhorn nodded, covering her surprise. She would never suspect Marseille for being such a pedant.

"Someone's coming"Jens reported.

Two tank commanders stopped to argue and looked back in the city's direction. There, they saw a minivan driving down the road towards the bridge.

"Stop him"Marseille ordered.

Jens nodded and stood in the middle of the road. He put out his hand to stop the incoming vehicle.

Car driver, seeing blockade on the bridge, stopped. He eyed two German tanks standing on the bridge and two figures in tank crew uniforms. As he deduced, they were from Military High School.

Ursula and Jens approached the minivan and knocked in it's glass. Driver lowered it and looked at the two.

"What is it?"he asked.

"We're looking for any Chinese soldiers trying to leave the city"Jens replied.

Driver looked at them with asking look.

"But Chinese left the city and ran away without fight"he said.

"But who knows, if some soldiers didn't stayed behind and are trying to escape now"Ursula replied.

After a while driver nodded.

"Pretty good idea".

"So, in order to not let this happen, we have to check every vehicle leaving the city"Jens said"Like you, for example".

For a short moment, fear appeared on driver's face. He managed to take control over it fast, but not fast enough and Jens and Ursula noticed it. They looked at each other.

"Can we see, what is in the back of your car?"Jens asked.

"I don't have any Chinese, that's for sure. I'm not going to help the enemy"driver stated.

"But it won't be a problem, if we check out if back of your car is empty?"Ursula asked.

Driver gave her undecided look and looked back. He bit her lip and again looked at the Germans.

"So, if you won't allow us…"Jens said, but didn't ended.

The minivan driver floored the speed pedal and quickly drove away. Jens and Ursula jumped back, to not get driven over.

"He's running!"Ursula said to her communicator.

"I see"Barkhorn replied.

Tank started to turn it's tower, following the minivan. Instead of firing the main gun, the tank used it's MG. Bullets easily pierced the minivan and it's wheels. For a short time minivan was still driving forward, until it finally drove off of the road.

There, it started to somersault and soon, it stopped on a tree.

Barkhorn opened the hatch and looked at the destroyed minivan. Next, she looked at Jens and Ursula. She nodded in the direction of the car.

"Go and investigate"she ordered.

Jens and Ursula nodded and went to investigate the wreckage.

"Barkhorn, what the hell is happening there?"Anton asked in radio.

"We just stopped possible transit of Chinese troops out of the city"the Witch replied.

There was moment of silence, before Anton replied:

"Understood. Take care of that and continue your duty. Call for transport for prisoners, if there are any".

"Copy that. We'll do it".

When she ended, Marseille looked at her.

"Possible transit?"she asked.

"We don't know, if he actually transported enemy troops"Barkhorn replied.

Marseille sent asking look to her.  
"Than what, if there aren't any Chinese transported?"

After that, Barkhorn saw, as Jens waves to her and Marseille. The two looked in that direction and saw him and Ursula keeping two men with them.

"We found two Chinese soldiers in the wreckage!"Jens shouted.

Barkhorn looked at Marseille.

"Alright, this time you was right"Marseille agreed.

"Of course"Barkhorn replied and turned back to the two"And the driver?"

"Dead!"Ursula shouted back.

Two tank commanders looked at each other.  
"Side casualty"Barkhorn stated"Besides, he was helping the enemy".

Next, she activated her communicator.  
"This is commander Barkhorn, requesting immediate transport for two prisoners"she said.

"Copy that, commander"the second side replied"Sending an Puma to take them".

Meanwhile, Marseille shook her head, looking at the two Chinese soldiers led by Jens and Ursula.

"Maybe it won't be so boring here"she stated.

17:21

Dizengoff Square

That night, on Dizengoff Square, soldiers gathered and put everything they found in the city on a big stack. There were propaganda posters, Chinese propaganda leaflets and many other documents prepared by Chinese during the city occupation. Next, they simply put the stack on fire.

When this happened, they simply took some marshmallows and started to bake them over the burning Chinese propaganda.

"Somebody wanna sing some campfire songs?"Chris asked.

Everyone simply looked at him and returned to baking the marshmallows. Chris threw up his arms.

"At least I tried"he said.  
"You know, it's pretty good night"Lynette said, wrapping her arm around Chris's neck.

He them wrapped his arm around her neck.

Meanwhile, Wilma was looking on it from afar. She still didn't knew what to think about Lynn's boyfriend. He seemed to be a good boy and caring. But still, she wasn't been one hundred percent sure, if he actually be a good man for her sister.

"What are you thinking about?"James said.

Wilma almost jumped from surprise, when he stood next to her.

"Don't appear out of sudden like that"she said.

Next, she noticed, that he's carrying two cups of tea. He gave one of them to her.

"Thanks"Wilma said and again looked at Chris and Lynette.

James followed her sight and nodded, when he saw, what Wilma was looking at.

"You think about them?"he asked.

"Maybe a bit"Wilma replied, taking sip of tea.

"Yeah, yeah. You're wondering, if Chris is good man for your sister"James stated.

Witch looked at him. She nodded.

"Yes. How did you know?"she asked.

"Because I was thinking the same about Lynn. If she will be a good girlfriend for my little bro"James said, taking sip"And I'm not disappointed".

"Lynette is a good girl. Only thing is that…I never seen her on the front lines, honestly".

British looked at Wilma with asking look.  
"Many times I saw her in action. I think she's really good"he stated.

"I know. Thanks to her Witch abilities"Wilma agreed"But still. For me, she was never good material for soldier. And I'm not saying, that she's simply awful soldier. It's because…Because I'm worried about her".

James nodded and again looked at the two.

"I was also worried about Chris, when he decided to join with me"he said"Mainly because of his illness. I was scared, than it will simply kill him. But well. When Nitrosium medicines were created, I wasn't been so scared anymore. However, I was scared, after he and Lynn were wounded in London".

"Lynn told me about it"Wilma said.

"I know. If not Lynette, Chris might be already dead. This is why I was thankful for her"James ended.

Next, he patted Wilma's arm.

"Who knows. Maybe one day, we will become family"he said.

"But you know, that we have to go back to our world?"Wilma asked.

"Sure I know. But well. You can't predict the future, right?"

Next, James simply walked away. Wilma again looked at Chris and Lynette.

"You picked yourself a good boyfriend, sis"she whispered.

On the other side of the Square, the Centauro crew was also drinking some tea, with Americans accompanying them.

"Los Angeles, you say?"Luciana asked.

"That's right"Shirley replied, taking sip of tea"It was both the most exciting and most dangerous period during my stay in this world".

"City was filled with Chinese so much, that they could shoot you even from below"Michael added"You had to look in every direction".

"But still, we haven't managed to keep the city in our hands"Will said"Although we held there for over a year".

"And I left something there"Shirley ended.

Martina spun the cup and again looked at Shirley.

"What did you left?"she asked.

"I left my right hand there"Shirley replied.

Eyes of all Romagna Witches turned towards Shirley.

"But you have both hands"Federica noticed.

"Yeah, but one is artificial".

Saying that, Shirley took off her glove and showed the mechanical hand to the Witches. Seeing this, they widened their eyes.

"If it's not real"Luciana said"then why we haven't noticed?"

"Because it's built with usage of the most advanced technologies this world can afford. Add some Nitrosium here and here. And here you have this"Shirley explained"Honestly? I like this hand even more than my previous one".

She put the glove back on her hand and smiled, grabbing her cup with it. Romagnian Witches, with fascination, watched as mechanical hand squeezes around the cup's handle and lifts it towards Shirley's mouth.

"Yeah, this hand is actually a prototype"Michael said.

"But pretty good one"Tiffany added.

Will took the last sip and put the cup down.

"Right, people. I advise to all of us to go to sleep. Tomorrow we're moving for Jerusalem"he said.

"Alright, just let me find my Crusader cape and helmet"Michael said jokingly.

With that, everyone laughed. Except of Romagnian Witches.

"Why do you need them?"Fernandia asked.

"Wait, what?"Tiffany asked.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Finally, after few seconds, Luciana broke it:

"Why do you need that cape and helmet?"

Now knowing what they were talking about, Michael shook his head.

"No, no. I was just kidding. It's because in the Middle Ages, Jerusalem was a common target of Holy Crusades"he explained.

"Why?"Martina asked.

"Because it's recognized of three biggest monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism"Tiffany explained.

"Why?"Federica joined asking.

Americans looked at each other and simply sighed.

"You know what? Better read about for yourself"Shirley advised"It's too complicated to explain with words".

"Okay"Federica said and yawned"And he might be right. Better let's go to sleep".

With these words, two groups ended drinking their tea and walked in separate directions, to prepare for tomorrow.

November 12, 2022

09:34

Highway 1

The column of Coalition armor was driving down the Highway 1, connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem. It consisted of tanks, troop transports and infantry fighting vehicles. Several trucks could be seen there too.

On their way towards Jerusalem, they passed numerous wrecks of Chinese and Israeli vehicles, relics of Chinese campaign in Israel two years prior.

"A lot of them"Sanya stated, sitting on top of BTR-90.

"It's because after India and Russia, Israel put the third biggest resistance during Chinese invasion"Linchov explained"Israelis lost fewer troops than Chinese, which lost over seven hundred thousand soldiers. Israeli lost just sixty thousand".

"So I see, that they haven't gave their country so easy"Pokryshkin said, sitting next to both of them.

"As everyone. Remember, that last Russian and Indian points of resistance were broken just a year ago".

Right then, the APC drove over a bigger rock, which made it jump. Aleksandra almost fell off of the BTR, but Linchov managed to catch her.

"Thanks"she said.

"No problem, sweetie"Linchov replied.

Since that night in Cairo, their relationship became more official. Now, everyone knew about and were actually sheering for them.

"Okay"Michael said, sitting in the back of American truck"We have a plan to take back Jerusalem".

"Only we have to hope, that it will work"Saltarski, sitting in front of him, said.

"I'm sure it will work".

However, Saltarski only shook his head. He leaned closer to Michael.

"I'm gonna tell you something"he said"Wars have one specific rule, that adapts to every single one of them. Not a single plan survives even few minutes after contact of with the enemy".

"You sounded like a damn prophet"Michael stated.

Saltarski only threw up his arms.

"I'm just saying. It's unwritten rule"he said.

"Boss knows many unwritten rules"Adrian added"For example, he knows, that he won't pass the school's final exam".

Michael, Will, Tiffany and Shirley looked at him.

"Why?"Shirley asked.

"There is unwritten rule, that every tenth student won't pass the secondary school final exam. And my number in school journal is thirty"Saltarski explained.

Michael and Tiffany looked at each other. If this rule was true, they also won't pass the final exam, as their numbers in journals were respectively ten and twenty.

"Okay, we don't have to talk about school now"Hisako stated"We have a mission to do".

Everyone nodded.

"True. If we take Jerusalem, only Golan Heights will stay to liberate"Adrian said.

"Until then, let's take the Holy City"Shirley agreed.

And as she said that, the truck was shook by explosion. It lifted the truck up for a few meters and then, it fell down, but not on wheels. Truck bowed so much, that Americans almost fell on Poles.

"What the hell was that?!"Saltarski shouted in his radio.

"We're under attack!"the answer came"Chinese tanks sighted around four kilometers from us!"

"So destroy them!"Saltarski replied and disconnected"Chinese tanks. I advice to get out of this truck, before it gets another shot".

"Good idea, old pal"Michael said.

Next, Americans and Poles immediately started to jump out of the truck. They did it in the last moment, as truck scored second hit from enemy tank and was changed into burning pile of remains.

"Phew, that was too close"Tiffany said.

"You don't say?"Shirley asked.

They quickly hid behind the closest tank, which already turned itself forward towards the Chinese tanks. It was then shaken by hit. Shell simply ricocheted from it's armor. Saltarski leaned, to see the enemy tanks.

"Welp. I can see AMXs in this land"he said.

"French tanks, in Israel, fighting for Chinese"Will shook his head"Why have I noticed how strange is it now?"

"First, we have to live through the battle. Then, you can think about how strange it is"Adrian said.

Tank, behind which they were hiding, fired. Shell flew towards Chinese tanks and hit one of it, piercing the armor. Crew started to leave the vehicle. Second shell, however, didn't had enough power and ricocheted.

"Better find some way to get out of it"Michael said to tank commander in radio.

"So jump in here and try this by yourself!"he shouted back.

Right then, three Coalition M1 Abrams turned around started to drive away. Soldiers looked at it with confused looks.

"And what are they doing?"Shirley asked.

"Trying to flank enemy tanks"one of tank commanders said in radio.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded.

"That makes sense"Hisako agreed.

Three tanks then disappeared from Chinese view behind a hill. Chinese commander watched with strange feeling.

"Where are they going?"his gunner asked with German accent.

"Probably they're just deserting"commander replied with Chinese accent.

But he didn't knew, that after tanks disappeared behind the hill, they again turned and started to drive over it. When they reached the top, they stopped and aimed their guns at Chinese tanks. One of American tank commanders smiled.

"Surprise, bitches"he said.

His tank fired, hitting Leclerc in top of the tower. Chinese tank commanders then orientated about the situation, but it was too late. Two remaining Abrams' opened fire too and decimated the remaining Chinese tanks.

After the fire from AMX-56s stopped, Coalition troops left their cover behind APC and tanks, looking in the direction of three now smoking enemy tanks.

"This was a close one"Michael stated.

"Yeah. Too close. And not the first"Adrian added.

"And definitely not the last"Hisako said.

Linchov then approached them, with his helmet off and riffle simply hanging on his neck. He scratched back of his head.

"That was unexpected"he said.

"True. Why haven't we noticed these tanks?"Michael asked.

"Probably because their camo"Russian replied"But now, better wait here. We're going to drive first, to see, if there are more surprises to come".

"Good idea. Tell us, when you check everything up"Saltarski said.

"Understood".

Linchov then turned and walked back to his BTR. Everyone looked at him and waited for what he had to say.

"We're going to do the scouting. And trey find any other surprises"he said.

"Maybe we should do it before we even left Tel Aviv"Artem stated.

Linchov simply threw up his arms and said:

"We thought, that Chinese already left the area. If we would know, that they left something behind, we would send the front guard".

"So better get ready. And get inside the APC"Aleksandra said"I don't want to be mowed from armor by MG".

"Good point"Linchov agreed.

The team then entered the BTR, which passed by other Coalition vehicles and drove down the road, to check the situation.

Later…

BTR was driving down the highway, prepared to engage the enemy at any time. It was turning it's tower around, looking for signs of enemy movement. Fortunately, until now, they haven't encountered any.

"Still nothing?"Linchov asked the gunner.

"Still nothing"gunner replied.

Linchov shook his head and looked at the rest of his squad.

"Maybe these tanks were the only trap?"Daria asked.

"I doubt it. If Chinese want to make our lives hard, they do it every way possible"Linchov stated"Remember Argentina?"

Everyone nodded. Except Aleksandra.

"I came here during Buenos Aires"she reminded.  
"Right. So you have to know, that during our offensive towards Buenos Aires, Chinese were attacking us using guerrilla tactics"Sanya replied.

In that moment, BTR stopped. Linchov turned towards the gunner.

"What happened?"he asked.

"Enemy position sighed on the hill. MGs and several stationary ATGMs"gunner replied.

"Have they noticed us?"Aleksandra asked.

"I don't thing so".

Linchov stood up and stretched his hands.

"So it's our turn"he stated"Move out, people".

Back door of BTR opened and soldiers started to exit. Once the five was outside, door closed and BTR backed off.

"Alright, do it slowly and sneaky"Linchov ordered.

Others nodded and followed him. They were dressed in desert camo, so it worked on their advantage.

After they left the road, they quickly ducked down and started to crawl towards the Chinese position. They tried to be as quiet as possible, to not trigger any action from Chinese. Only thing they saw, was the dirt and ground in front of them.

Linchov showed them to spread out and said:

"Ten meter space. Surround the hill and attack on my sign".

Others nodded and started to do the order. They started to crawl away from each other, trying to surround the hill. All their moves were slow and balanced, so the sound of their equipment won't turn enemy attention.

Aleksandra looked around. She tried to notice the others, but the ten meter spaces and desert camo were doing their jobs. She next looked in front of her, to see the hill's slope. On top, she saw the MG nest and Chinese moving left and right. She bit her lip.

Then, she stopped in the last second. In front of her, she could see the cord. She followed it and noticed two objects sticking out of the ground.

"Mines"she whispered.

And felt the thrill coming down her spine. If she haven't stopped, she would pull the cord and mines would explode, killing her and alarming Chinese about their presence.

Witch reached her knife and slowly started to slice the cord. As she was taught on Spetsnaz training in school.

"Slowly and calmly"she whispered.

Next, she pulled the knife several times and both halves of cord fell on the ground. Witch sighed and noticed, that she was holding her breath. She shook her head and started to crawl forward.

After few minutes, she was already literally under the Chinese trench, so she could hear voices. And to her surprise, they were in Russian.

"Traitors"she whispered, although she was Orussian, not Russian.

Then, she heard Linchov's voice in her radio:

"Everyone, report your readiness".

"This is Artem. In position".

"Daria here. Ready".

"Sanya, ready".

"Aleksandra, ready".

"Great. On my mark, stand up and clear the trench".

There was another moment of silence. Linchov was making sure, that Chinese soldiers didn't noticed him. And when he was sure, he reached his radio again and said:

"Now!"

Five Spetsnaz soldiers stood up, aiming their weapons at Chinese.

Said enemy soldiers simply looked at five figures, which seemed to grow out of the ground and appeared out of nowhere. However, they weren't able to do much more, because four Russians opened fire and mowed them all down.

Next, the five stood over the dead soldiers.

"Call the convoy and tell them, that the road is clear. They can move"Linchov said to Artem.

Boy nodded his head and turned around, to walk few meters away.

However, he immediately stopped, when he heard characteristic clicking sound. Others heard it too and looked at Artem. Next, their eyes moved down to see…Artem's feet standing on a landmine.

Daria looked at her brother with worry on her face.

"Well. Good, that I haven't stepped on it earlier"Artem stated.

"Shit, wait a little. I'm calling sappers"Linchov said.

And then, they all heard another sound. Sound they all knew too well.

Sound of several boots hitting the ground.

They turned in it's direction, to see a group of around twenty Chinese soldiers running towards them from behind another hill.

"This is some sick joke"Aleksandra stated.

"Go"Artem said.

Everyone looked at him, don't knowing, if they heard him good.

"What did you said?"Linchov asked.

"Go. I will stop them"Artem replied.

"What?!"Daria exclaimed"You can't do it! There are too many of them!"

"But I have explosives".

"What ex…?"Sanya wanted to ask, but then, she understood"Oh".

Artem nodded and pointed behind him.

"I bet whole hill was mined. If this is the case, all other mines will explode once I take my feet off of this one"he said.

"Are you sure about it?"Linchov asked.

"I never was sure anything more than now"Artem replied.

Spetsnaz soldiers looked at each other and nodded.

"Kick their asses"Linchov said and started to walk away, looking to not step on another mines. Witches followed him.

Only Daria stayed with her brother. She came closer to him and hugged.

"I'm gonna miss you"she said.

Artem returned the hug and smiled.  
"And I will not"he replied.

"Screw you. Just don't let them kill you, without you killing them".

"You can be calm about it".

Right then, first bullet fired by incoming Chinese flew over their heads. Enemy soldiers were closer and closer.

"Go. We'll meet on the second side"Artem said.

"Farewell"Daria said and stopped hugging her brother.

Next, she ran to join Linchov and the Witches. She also payed attention, to not stand on another mine.

Meanwhile, Artem waited. He was looking at twenty enemy soldiers coming towards the hill he was standing on. He checked the status of ammo in his AK-103 magazine, but knew, that he would not need his riffle. So he waited.

Around two minutes later, Chinese soldiers started to surround him. They all aimed their weapons at him, while also looking around, ready to take care of any other danger.

One of Chinese approached Artem. Boy noticed, that enemy soldier had not only Chinese, but also Russian flag on his shoulder.

"Вы ошиблись, оставаясь здесь (You made a mistake staying here)"soldier said in Russian.

"Кто-то должен был позаботиться о тебе (Someone had to take care of you)"Artem replied in Russian, too.

"Что вы можете сделать против всех нас? (What can you do against all of us?)"soldier asked.

"Эта (This)"Artem replied, pointing down.

Soldier looked at what he was pointing and widened his eyes, seeing the landmine. He quickly turned towards other soldiers and shouted:  
"Выйти из холма! (GET OFF OF THE HILL!)"

"Увидимся в аду (See you in hell)"Artem said and took his feet off of the mine.

Other Spetsnaz soldiers watched the situation from afar, standing next to their BTR. They saw, as Artem takes his feet off of the landmine. Next, everything happened in matter of second.

Whole hill suddenly started to erupt with explosions, sending Chinese soldiers flying away. Dust and mud were flying with them too. After few seconds, everything was quiet and wind started to blow the dust in numerous directions.

Soldiers took off their helmets and hung their heads. Additionally, Daria started crying and turned around, to not see the place, where her brother just died.  
"Okay, let's get back"Licnhov said with neutral tone.

Everyone started to enter the BTR. Next, the APC turned around and returned to the rest of Coalition convoy.

Sometime later…

Coalition convoy

BTR was driving next to Coalition vehicles. It stopped next to the place, where American truck was blown up during fight with tanks. Soldiers started to come out of it.

Saltarski and Michael approached Linchov and his squad. But when they approached them, they already knew, that something happened.

"And how is it?"Michael asked.

"We cleared possible ambush. Trench with ATGMs and soldiers hidden behind nearby hills. Everything is clear"Linchov replied, still in neutral tone.

American and Pole looked at each other. Then, they noticed, that someone's missing in Linchov's squad.

"Weren't there five of you?"Krystian asked.

"Yeah. But Artem stepped on a landmine".

He quickly recounted everything what happened during and after clearing the trench. Saltarski and Michael nodded after hearing this.

"You should tell your general to give him a medal"Krystian stated.

"That's what I'm going to do"Linchov agreed"Anyway. Better let's move. We still have Jerusalem to take, aren't we?"

"Yes, we have. Hope you'll be able to fight?"Michael asked.

Linchov looked at his AK-103.

"I'm always able to fight"he stated.

"Good. So let's go now"Saltarski said and walked away.

Michael and Linchov then returned to their vehicles. Soon after, the convoy again started to move forward in the direction of Jerusalem.

11:53

Jerusalem outskirts

Almost three hours later, column reached Jerusalem and set up on the city outskirts. Coalition troops set up radar, command vehicle and prepared the field hospital. Tanks aimed their cannons in the direction of the city, preparing for any Chinese reaction.

"What do we know?"Michael asked one of scouts.

"City is guarded by around two thousand Guardians of the Middle East. To it, we have around two hundred Chinese soldier, which have to take care of Guardians. If they decided to join forces with us"scout replied.

"Thanks, Tommy"Michael said.

"No problem, boss. Make America Great Again"Tommy replied and walked away.

Michael, on the other hand, turned around and walked up to Saltarski, Linchov, Annika, Barkhorn, Abla and Tsukuhawa, commander of Japanese tank platoon. They were standing bowed over the table with map of the city on it.

"What do we know?"Abla asked.

"Two thousand two hundred enemies. Mainly Guardians"Michael replied.

Annika whistled after hearing that.

"We have only five hundred soldiers"the Israeli said.

"What giver four to one ratio for them"Abla counted.

Michael, Saltarski and Linchov threw up their arms.

"On European Front, it's often ten to one ratio for them. So you know. It's still better"Saltarski said.

"Whatever you Euros say"Abla agreed.

"Anyway, let's get back to the plan"Michael stated"Where did Chinese set up their command post?"

Annika pointed at the Temple Hill.

"On the Temple Hill. We have to break into the temple and take down the Chinese general in charge of the city occupation. This will surely force them to surrender".

"Or make them fight more"Linchov added"This or this, we will take the city in anyways. And we should be prepared for counteroffensive from GME from Jordan".

"We know. But until that, let's focus on taking the city. We will be worrying about Chinese counterattack after we take it"Barkhorn said.

Michael nodded and pointed on the map.

"We're going to advance through the Kfar Sha'ul district and then, towards the Temple Hill. The streets are too thin, so we can't use the help of vehicles"There, he looked at Barkhorn"Barkhorn. You're going to command the second group. You will advance through Yefe Nof and Hapo'alim, with Tsukuhawa. Take some soldiers with you, to protect your vehicles from enemy troops".

"Got it"Witch confirmed.

"We're going to meet at the feet of Temple Hill. Then, we will take down enemy commander and retake the city. Understood?"

"Understood"everyone replied.

Michael nodded and reached his M4 Sopmod II.

"Great. So let's finish our Holy Crusade against Chinese"he stated.

Next, everyone went to the units.

12:09

Kfar Sha'ul district

American Marines, together with Polish and Israeli soldiers were on the outskirts of the district. Michael, Annika and Saltarski commanded their squads and entered first. They decided to do the scouting, before rest of their soldiers enter the city.

Currently, they were hiding behind a building. Annike leaned a little and saw a squad of twelve Arab soldiers. She shook her head.

" _Cocksuckers_ "she thought.

She turned back to the rest.

"Twelve Guardians behind this turn".

"Copy that"Saltarski replied"Nothing we can't handle".

He turned around to Michael and gave him thumbs up. Next, he showed his soldiers hand signal to go behind the second building. They quickly ran from one cover to another.

Guardians heard the footsteps and turned around. Commander looked at his soldiers and showed two of them to check this. They listened and went to investigate the footsteps. Nobody should be present here, except of Guardians. All citizens of this district were evicted and district itself was changed into fully military controlled area of the city.

Two soldiers turned behind the building and were greeted by the group of Polish soldiers. One of them, with darker skin and light brown eyes, quickly jumped towards them, grabbed their heads and with full strength, he crashed their heads into each other.

Next, he showed thumbs up to Saltarski.

"Martinez is still one f the best people I have"Saltarski said.  
"He's not Polish?"Annika asked.

"His mother is Spanish, father is American and they live in Poland. Strange combination, I agree"Saltarski replied.

"And we aren't your favorites?"Adrian asked, pointing at Hisako.

Saltarski turned to them and smiled.

"Martinez is right after you two"he said.

"Cut the chat. I think they're moving"Michael said.

And he was right. Not hearing anything from the two soldiers, commander ordered the remaining soldiers to move and check it.

But before they could do anything, Coalition soldiers left their cover and aimed their weapons at Arabs. Guardians tried to do the same, but last thing they saw, was a flash from Coalition barrels.

"Now I'm sure, they know about us"Annika stated.

"This wasn't supposed to be stealth mission anyways"Michael said and turned on his radio"Barkhorn, you can move forward".

Meanwhile…

Yefe Nof district

"Barkhron, you can move forward"Michael said in radio.

"Copy that. Starting operation"Barkhorn replied.

Witch hid down into her hatch and closed it. Next, she turned to Ursula:

"Turn on the engine and forward".

"On it"Ursula replied.

Next, Barkhorn reached her radio and turned to the rest of platoon:

"Platoon, forward".

Four tanks, with company of several APCs and IFVs, started to move forward towards the city. Around them, Spetznaz soldiers were walking and aiming at buildings surrounding.

"Keep your eyes open. We don't want any surprises"Linchov ordered.

"You can be sure about that"Daria stated with serious tone.

And after she said that, a missile from RPG hit the ground in front of their column. Soldiers quickly hid behind the vehicles and started to look around.

"There he is!"one of Spetznaz soldiers said.

He pointed at a window in nearby building. There, everyone saw a figure of Middle East Guardian with RPG in his hand and loading another missile.

Sanya wanted to be faster and took her own RPG, but Linchov stopped her.

"No. There are still people in the city. And if they're not on the streets, they're probably hidden in their houses"he said and turned his radio"Barkhorn, mow him down".

Barkhorn's tank turret started to turn in the direction of building and aimed the machine gun on it. Next, the MG fired and bullets sliced through the enemy's body.

But then, instead of missiles fire, bullets started to fire from all sides and bounce from vehicles armor. Aleksandra and Sanya activated their shields to deflect the bullets, while other Spetznaz started to to return fire, as well as APCs and IFVs.

"Oh, come the fuck on!"Linchov exclaimed"This is getting ridiculous!"

He then leaned from behind his cover and returned fire. His bullets hit Guardian in the neck and sent him flying out of the window. Russian then hid back, as more bullets were fired at him. But then, one of BTRs mowed the enemy line down.

"I wonder, how others are doing?"Sanya asked.

Back with Israeli, Polish and American troops…

Saltarski hid behind his cover, as bullets flew over his head. He looked at Martinez, Hisako and Adrian, which were ducking down next to him. Guardians were standing on a bit higher position and were shredding their cover with wave of bullets.

"They have us, not gonna lie"he said.

"Could be worse, Boss"Martinez said"They could throw a grenade at us".

Right when he said that, grenade landed between them.

"RUN!"Adrian exclaimed.

Four soldiers jumped on their feet and ran back towards the American, Israeli and rest of their soldiers hiding behind a house.

"You had to speed forward, weren't you?"Annika asked.

"We didn't expected so many of them. That's all"Hisako said.

Michael then leaned, to look at enemy soldiers. However, he hid back again, as bullets flew next to his head.  
"I don't think they'll let us pass there"he said.

"Agree"Martinez said.

Right then, his eyes landed on the door behind Michael and Americans.

"But I think I know, how to get through them"he said.

"How?"Annik asked.

Martinez pointed at the door. Everyone turned around and saw them.

"How couldn't we notice?"Shirley asked.

"I dunno"Martinez said"But just give me some men and women and we'll take care of that road block".

Annika and Michael nodded. Their turned to their soldiers.

"Shir, Jenkins. You're going with Martinez"Michael said.

"Shakan, Horadi. You too"Annika said.

The four nodded and joined Martinez. He came up to the door and opened them with kick. Next, his little squad started to pour inside.

Once inside, they started checking the rooms on the lower floor, looking for any enemy soldiers hiding inside and preparing to ambush Coalition outside. Fortunately, they found nobody.

"Ground floor clear!"Horadi reported.

"Let's go up then"Martinez ordered.

Soldiers then stood on the stairs and slowly started to move up. Martinez was in the front, aiming his riffle up, to hit any enemy, which will appear on the top of the stairs. But none of that happened.

"I think this home is clear"Shirley said.

"True. No sign of enemy"Jenkins agreed with her.

Soldiers then stood down and simply went up the stairs. They entered the corridor and came up to the door, which seemed to lead to the room turned towards the Guardians. Martinez came up to the door and again opened them with kick.

And when he did this, everyone heard a scream. Soldiers looked at each other. Next, they entered the room, which turned out to be a children room.

Inside, four people were present: one man, one woman and two children. Soldiers looked at each other. They were shaking and fear could be seen in their eyes.

"Shakan, take care of them"Martinez ordered.

Israeli nodded and came up to the people. He said something in Hebrew, what seemingly calmed them down.

Meanwhile, the rest of the squad came up to the two windows of the room. Fortunately, they were big enough, so two soldiers could stand next to each other.

Down on the street, they could see soldiers firing at the rest of their teams. Martinez, Horadi, Shirley and Jenkins aimed their weapons at them.

"Niespodzianka, szmaty (Surprise, whores)"Martinez said in Polish.

All soldiers pulled their triggers and bullets flew towards enemy troops.

When Guardians noticed, where the bullets are coming from, their turned and fired at the windows. However, they then got hit by the remaining Polish, Israeli and American troops from the front. Now, under the fire from two sides, Guardians started to turn their back and run away. But before they were safe, few more got hit by enemy bullets.

Michael lowered his weapon and looked up, to see Martinez in the window, showing thumbs up.

"I think I'm starting to like this Martinez"Michael stated.

"Told you"Saltarski said"But that's later. Now, let's follow them".

They waited for Martinez and the rest. How surprised they were, when they saw civilians among the five soldiers.

"Where did you found them?"Annika asked.

"In the building"Shakan replied"Someone should escort them to safe area".

"Good idea. Can you do it?"Michael asked.

Shakan asked. He looked at Horadi and the two soldiers, with four civilians, turned in the direction of the Coalition FOB outside Jerusalem.

Rest of soldiers moved forward.

Back with armored group…

Spetznaz soldiers finally jumped from behind their covers and started firing at enemy soldiers in the windows. Guardians started to fall out of them or fall back into the houses. Soon, everything ended.

"Okay, next time"Linchov said"have your eyes open twice as wide".

"That was even intense"Aleksandra said.

Meanwhile, vehicles started to move forward again. For around two kilometers, they haven't met anymore resistance from enemy forces, what even surprised Coalition troops, because they were waiting for more ambushes.

"I don't like it, if you want to know"Sanya said.

"I don't like it either"Aleksandra agreed"It's too quiet after that ambush back then".

Suddenly, they felt ground under their feet shaking. They all looked at each other and on their tanks.

"I hope it's not what I think"one of Spetsnaz said.

Right then, one of the building in front of them literally exploded with rubble. Soon after, a shape started coming out of it. And it was shape known to them too much.

"Enemy tank!"Linchov exclaimed.

Tank then started to turn around, putting itself with it's front in the direction of Coalition troops and vehicles. And to make the matter worse, it turned out to be the laser cannon tank.

"You're gonna be shitting me!"Aleksandra exclaimed and realized"I think I'm spending too much time with games".

When she moved into the Russian MHS, she discovered, that she's pretty good at playing MMO games. Because of that, when she, or her team were winning, she heard many interesting words.

But now, it was not important for her. Tank aimed it's gun and fired. Fortunately or unfortunately, laser passed by the armored column and hit the nearby building, which collapsed on the street.

"Shit, fire!"Barkhorn ordered.

Her tank turned it's tower and fired. However, as she expected, the shell bounced off of the armor. Barkhorn just fell on her commander chair.

"I think we need to get very radical"she stated.

She then used her periscope to look around.

"Ursula, get through that building!"Barkhorn ordered.

But then, something strange happened. A missile came out of nowhere and hit the laser cannon tank in the back, where it's armor was the weakest. Engine exploded and crew started leaving it. However, someone fired his weapon and tank crew was mowed down.

Spetsnaz soldiers and vehicle crew simply looked at it, confused. They all looked at each other, but everyone just threw up their arms.

"Hey, who did this?"Daria asked.

"I think I know who"Linchov said, pointing in the direction of tank.

From the smoke that started to come out of the tank, a person was coming. When person came through smoke, everyone gasped from surprise because…it was Sanya.

Linchov, Daria and Aleksandra right then noticed, that Sanya was not with them anymore. Witch approached them and saluted.

"Done"she said.

"But…when…how…"Linchov asked.

"You were distracted by the tank, so I simply went through that alley over there"she pointed at nearby alley"and then, I came up to the building this tank broke through and simply used my RPG. When they started running, I made sure they won't escape".

Aleksandra and Linchov looked at each other.

"I never expected to see something like that from her"Linchov said.

"Me too"Aleksandra agreed.

"And me"Barkhorn said from her turret hatch.

Sanya just threw up her arms, like it was nothing.

"That Spetznaz training came in handy"she stated.

"I should remember to not make you angry"Barkhorn stated.

Next, she hid back inside her tank.

"Move forward"she said in radio.

"What she said"Linchov stated.

Next, the column continued to move forward towards the Temple Hill.

Meanwhile…

From two groups attacking the city, the one commanded by Saltarski, Michael and Annika was probably the most unlucky. They were meeting enemy troops left and right and were almost out of ammo. Some soldiers were even already carrying Chinese or Guardian riffles and ammo.

And currently, they were engaging another group. This time, around three times bigger that the one they met earlier.

"Hiko, on your left!"Michael shouted.

Hisako turned around and fired at Guardian, which wanted to attack her from behind. Enemy soldier fell on the ground and his helmet rolled on the ground.

The fight was taking place in the web of small alleys between the buildings. Soldiers spread out to cover more of the alleys, which came in handy, when enemy soldiers started to appear. Coalition troops maneuvered between building and sometimes managed to catch enemies into ambush. Guardians and Chinese tried to find them, but were not so good at it.

"Thanks"Hisako said to Michael.

"No problem. Saltarski would kill me, if I would let you die"Michael replied.

"Me too, by the way"Shirley added.

All three of them were pushing in the direction of Temple Hill, as planned, but they also were additionally cleaning the alleys from enemy soldiers. Currently, they killed around twenty of them, in small groups of course.

"I swear, how many of them can still be there?"Shirley asked.

"Too many. There is always too many"Hisako replied.

She then looked up and saw a flash of light. She aimed up and fired her gun. Soon after, Chinese soldier fell out of the window.

"Nice one"Michael commended.  
"Always have eyes wide open"Hisako replied"That's what they're teaching us in school. We have to fill our small numbers with something, right?"

"True"Shirley agreed.

They continued to move down the alley, before Michael lifted his hand, ordering them to stop. Two girls stopped and stood behind Michael.

American leaned from behind the turn and saw a group of ten Guardians standing in the alley.

"Then enemies behind the turn"he said.

"So, what are we going to do with them?"Shirley asked.

Michael looked at her and smiled. He reached his belt and took a grenade from there. Next, he pulled the cotter and threw grenade behind the turn.

Guardians of the Middle East hasn't noticed the small object, until it landed between them. When this happened, they jumped from surprise.

" قنبلة!)Grenade!)"one of Guardians exclaimed.

But before they could run away, grenade exploded and threw them away, with some of them hitting hard objects and breaking their heads and necks.

"Our turn"Michael said.

Hisako, Michael and Shirley entered the alley and started checking the status of enemy soldiers.

"This one is alive"Hisako said, when she stood over a soldier, which crashed into the table.

She knelt next to him and opened her backpack.

"What are you doing?"Shirley asked.

"Helping him"girl said.

Michael and Shirley looked at each other.

"Why?"Michael asked.

"Because enemy or not, he's still a human"Hisako replied.

"Morality in the first place"Shirley said, seeing Michael's asking look.

Hisako took two pieces of wood from the table and put soldier's broken hand between them.

"Shirley, can you keep it like that?"

Witch knelt next to Hisako and grabbed the pieces of wood. Next, Hisako took a bandage from her backpack and started to wrap it around the arm. When she was done, she took off soldier's helmet and started to wrap the bandage around his head.

"Why are you doing this?"Guardian asked.

Hisako looked at his face and smiled warmly.

"As I said. No matter if you're enemy, you're still a human"she said.

"Makes sense"Guardian stated.

Right then, Hisako finished wrapping the bandage. She took her scissors and cut the bandage.

"I hope it will help you"she said.

Girl nodded her head and stood up. She grabbed her riffle and joined Michael and Shirley. She smiled.

"Satisfaction"Hisako stated.

"Satisfaction is what matters"Michael agreed.

He then heard his radio cracking. Few seconds after that, they all heard Saltarski's voice:

"Where the hell are you?"

"In one of alleys"Michael replied to radio"And what about you?"

"We're under Temple Hill"Krystian said"Second group is here too".

"Does it mean we're the only ones late?"Shirley asked.

"No, the fun is still going. You won't be late for anything. Now get here as fast as possible!"

"We're on it"Michael said, hiding his radio.

Without more words, the three turned down the alley and turned towards the Temple Hill.

Meanwhile, the GME soldier Hisako managed to bear, watched them and saluted.

"I wish you the best"he said and lost consciousness.

13:02

Temple Hill

Coalition soldiers were hiding behind their vehicles, as defenders were firing at them from the top. Bullets were flying everywhere and ricocheting from vehicles' armor.

Michael, Hisako and Shirley joined the hiding soldiers. They found Saltarski, Linchov and Annika kneeling behind BTR and looking at the Temple Hill map. They approached them and also looked at map.

"Good to see you in one piece"Linchov said.

"The same"Shirley replied.

"What are we dealing with?"Michael asked.

Saltarski pointed on the map.

"Most of enemy soldiers withdrew to the temple. They set up in the gates and on the walls. In other words, they returned to the Middle Ages and are defending the castle"he said.

But when he saw Annika's look, he corrected himself:

"I mean, temple".

Annika nodded.

"Right. So we have to attack enemy, who has the high ground"Shirley said.

"And if _Star Wars_ taught us something, is that high ground always wins"Krystian said.

Hisako looked at him with smile on her face.

"And Darth Maul and Grievous?"she asked.

"Alright, high ground wins only, when Obi-Wan has it"Saltarski agreed with her.

She nodded.

"Okay, end this sci-fantasy chat and let's take out the general"Michael said"Tell it to the others. We start in ten minutes".

As he said that, he and Shirley went to the other American soldiers. Linchov and Annika did the same.

Saltarski and Hisako approached Adrian and Martinez, which were hiding behind one of Bradleys. Two boys looked at them.

"So, what's the plan?"Martinez asked.

"Martinez, you tell the driver of that Bradley, that in ten minutes, we assault the Temple Hill. Adrian, tell it to the soldiers"Krystian replied.

Martinez nodded and entered the IFV. Adrian turned around and approached the group of Polish soldiers.

Krystian looked at Hisako.

"Better watch out for bullets"he said.

"I don't have to. You should be the one, who should be aware of bullets"Hisako stated with reproach.

"Why, because you're bulletproof?"

"No, because I don't want to take care of all these bullets that might hit you".

After she said that, they both smiled and started laughing. How they loved these word skirmishes from time to time.

"Okay, let's get serious now. We have to retake the Temple Hill"Krystian said, when they stopped laughing.

"Of course"Hisako agreed.

Ten minutes later, everything was ready and soldiers just waited for their commanders to give orders. Soldiers were hiding behind Bradley, which had to be their shield during the approach to main gate of the temple.

However, Americans decided to not go behind Bradley.  
"You really want to charge under enemy fire without cover?"Annika asked"I thought it's Russian thing".

"Hey! We're not doing that!"Linchov said with reproach"Not very often at least"he added quieter.

Michael shook his head and pointed at Shirley.

"We have our own shield. Shir!"

Witch nodded and activated her familiar and shield. Saltarski just threw up his arms.

"Okay, fine with me"he said"On my mark!"

Soldiers lifted their weapons, while Bradley aimed it's gun.

"Move!"Krystian ordered.

When he said that, IFV started to move up the hill, soldiers behind it. Americans hiding behind Shirley's shield started to move forward too.

Seeing the incoming assault, Guardians and Chinese started to fire towards Coalition troops. They were especially terrified by the blue light circle, used as cover by Americans. Bullets were simply bouncing from it, like from armor.

"Better let's start taking care of them"Michael stated.

He leaned from behind Shirley's shield and aimed at soldiers on temple's wall ramparts. Before Guardians and Chinese knew, they started to fall from ramparts under American fire. Remaining ones started to duck down.

"Know your place, trash!"Tiffany exclaimed, as she shot two enemies.

Bradley also didn't wasted time. IFV aimed it's turret at the ramparts and fired several shots, mowing down more enemies. Next, the turret turned at the main gate and fired at soldiers protecting it.

"Hide, hide, hide!"Guardian commander ordered in Arabic.

Soldiers started to run, hiding from Coalition troops and Bradley. The ones at ramparts started running too. But in that way, they put themselves on the firing lines of Coalition, what they used to mow down more of them.

"Don't let any of them run!"Saltarski ordered.

His soldiers came out of their hiding and started firing. Guardians and Chinese were falling on the ground like bowls. Martinez took his grenade and threw in the direction of enemy, killing more of them.

"And another one!"Linchov said, when he killed another enemy.

Before Guardians could know, they were all taken care of and laying on the ground. Coalition soldiers looked at this.

"Only if God will forgive us for what we done in his temple"Annika said.

"Well, if we would have any other choice, we wouldn't do it. But They chosen to fight"Michael stated"Now, let's get that bastard inside!"

Soldiers nodded and followed Michael. They came through the Temple Hill in-wall part, with Bradley following them. Next, they reached the main temple and stood on both sides of the door.

Martinez came up to them and pulled.

"Locked"he stated.

"I can see they don't want us inside"Will stated"What now?"

Michael thought for a moment. Next, he turned to Annika and asked:

"Will you forgive me for what I'm going to do?"

Israeli girl tilted her head, not knowing, what the American was talking about.

But soon, she got the answer. Michael said something to his radio and Bradley started to move forward. Before Annika could say anything, the IFV driven between the columns and simply rammed the temple's gate.

"Oh, come on!"Annik exclaimed.

"Modern problems require modern solutions"Michael replied.

After he said that, fire came from the inside and Bradley returned fire. Screams came from inside and another wave of fire came.

"Inside!"Linchov ordered.

Soldiers quickly started running inside the temple and firing their weapons. Guardians tried to fire at them, but Coalition was faster and before any Guardian could fire at soldier, he was killed himself.

"On the left!"Daria exclaimed.

Linchov turned and fired his gun at two Guardians, which came out of hiding on his left. They quickly fell on the ground.

Rest of Guardians, seeing that they have no chance, started to lift up their arms and lay down their weapons. Coalition troops started coming up to them and tying their arms behind them. Next, they were bringing Guardians to their knees.

"It went pretty easy"Michael said with smile.

"You know, that this is probably the oldest temple in the world?"Annika asked"And you just destroyed it's gate?"

"Many landmarks get destroyed during fighting"Michael replied.

Annika shook her head.

"Try say something to American…"she whispered.

"What was that?"Michael asked.

Israeli just shook her head and looked around. Around her, except of benches, she could see tables with communication equipment and maps. She decided to check some of them.

Meanwhile, Linchov approached a man in Chinese officer uniform and pulled him up on his legs. Next, they moved him to one of the multiple tables with equipment and put him on the chair.

"Okay, Chinese scum"he said"Tell us everything".

"What do I have to tell you?"officer asked.

"Everything you know"Saltarski replied"About forces in other Middle Easter regions, state of your equipment and anything like that…"

"Never"officer stated.

The two looked at each other. Linchov, without hesitation, hit the officer in the face. He just looked at them with surprise.

"What the hell was that?!"he exclaimed.

"Just something, what have to remind you, that we're the winners here"Saltarski stated, pointing behind him.

Officer looked at what he was pointing and saw his soldiers kneeling, with Coalition soldiers guarding them. He bit his lip.

"Okay. There, you are right. But…"

In that moment, a telephone rang. Everyone turned in it's direction. Saltarski looked at Linchov and came up to the phone.

Officer then started to shake his head.

"No!"he shouted"Don't pick up this call!"

But Saltarski didn't listened. He grabbed the phone and took the call.  
"Hello?"he said.

"Wait, who are you?"came from the other said.

Pole then felt something in his chest. He heard this voice several times. It was true, that with lector, translating, what he was saying, but this voice was known to him. From various reports about Syrian Civil War.

"Someone from Coalition. By the way, nice to know, that you're alive. Guess, that your brother is too, mister?"Krystian replied.

"Coalition?"the voice owner said with surprise"What…?"

But before he could end, Saltarski put down the phone and came up to the officer. Before he could say anything, Pole kicked him in face, knocking him out.

"What are you doing?!"Linchov shouted.

"We don't need him"Saltarski stated"We need someone else".

"Someone else?"Linchov asked, not hiding surprise"Who?"

However, instead of answering, Saltarski turned around and walked away.

"Just call our base. We need to get back to Tel Aviv as fast as possible"he stated"And tell them to start pushing Guardians out of the city".

Linchov tried to say something else, but he finally gave up and turned, to contact the base.

13:53

Coalition base outside Jerusalem

After receiving the information from Linchov, remaining two thousand soldiers in the base moved out and started liberating the city. Meanwhile, the Temple Hill assault force returned with their prisoners.

"So, who was calling?"Linchov asked Saltarski once again.

Saltarski once more looked at his Russian friend. He simply didn't wanted to give up.

"I can tell you"Pole stated"But I don't know, if it won't hit your Russian pride".

"Why would it?"Linchov asked.

"I know, that Russia helped a lot in Syrian Civil War. On the president's side".

Russian nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't see the connection here".

Saltarski sighed. He looked straight into Linchov's eyes.

"The person who called, was no one else, than former president of Syria, Bashar Hafiz al-Assad"he replied.

There was a short period of silence between the two. Linchov several times tried to say something, but simply couldn't. And if Saltarski could read from the lips movement, he would known, that Linchov said 'Oh, cyka'.

XXX

 **And here is the chapter done. Jerusalem is liberated (almost) and Coalition soldiers now have to solve a mystery: why was al-Assad calling city occupation leader? But, as you probably know, this will be explained in the near future.**

 **So, until the next time!**


	25. School Chapter 5

**School Chapter 4. This time, we will mostly focus on the things that happened aboard the FS _Loire._ Or in other words, what was happening with Perrine after the America Libre.**

 **So, without longer extent, let's begin.**

School Chapter 5

,,Dating problem"

July 28, 2022

18:29

Laura & Perrine's room

Perrine was sitting at the desk, doing homework. Although the operation ended just four days ago, the headmaster didn't decided to do a break from studying. But, honestly, she wished that headmaster could order a break.

" _It seems that there's no option for that_ "she stated in mind.

Although all that, she even liked studying after the operation. This could help in taking care of something else, than only all these deaths and destruction which she saw in South America.

But her thoughts were quickly cut off, when suddenly, someone opened the room's door and slammed them closed. When Witch turned, she saw Laura with her back pressed to the door.

"What happened?"Perrine asked.

"I need your help!"Laura replied and literally jumped towards Perrine.

She grabbed her by arms and started to shake her. Perrine felt her glasses falling off her face and luckily managed to grab them, before they landed on the floor.

"Laura, what's happening?"she asked"And stop shaking me like that!"

Laura stopped and looked at Perrine.

"Please, forgive. It's just…"Laura started"It's Jacques. He said 'Hi' to me today!"

Perrine put her glasses back on and looked at Laura with confused expression on her face. Jacques was in their class, but she actually didn't payed attention on him.

"That's it? A boy said 'Hi' to you and you're so concerned about it?"the Witch asked.

"But Jacques is not a simple boy"Laura gulped"I…I like him".

"So why don't you just say him?"

"But…I like like him".

Witch then understood, what her roommate was talking about.

"Oh. That's actually can be a problem"she stated.

"That's why I wanted to ask you a question. Will you help me with it?"

"I actually don't know anything about getting to boy's heart"Perrine replied"So I don't know what to do".

But then, idea popped in Pererine's head.

"But I think I know someone, who can help you"she stated.

Laura looked at her with hope.

"Really? Who?"she asked.

Perrine came off her chair and walked up to the door.

"Come with me"she said.

Her roommate didn't hesitated long and followed the Witch.

18:47

Near Crystal's room

"Why are we going to lieutenant Le Fem's room?"Laura asked.

"Because she is the one, who can help you"Perrine replied.

Laura tilted her head left.

"Why do you think she'll help me?"

"Because she likes to help the others, isn't she?"Perrine asked.

Girl thought about it for a moment and finally nodded, agreeing.

Soon after, the two stood in front of the room's door. Perrine knocked, but there was no answer. Witch looked at Laura.

"Maybe she sleeps?"girl proposed.

"At this time?"Perrine asked"I don't think so".

She again turned towards the door and knocked again. Once more, there was no answer.

"Okay, it's not funny"Witch stated.

Perrine grabbed the handle and pressed it. The door opened and the two entered inside. How big was their surprise, when they saw Anton laying in Crystal's bed, with Crystal herself nowhere to be seen.

"Anton? What are you doing here?"Perrine asked.

The German tried to escape with his eyes.

"Well. Crystal sometimes let me sleep in her room, if I want"he replied.

This time, both Laura and Perrine tilted their heads.

"Oh, come on. Really? That's the best what you can say to get rid of people?"Crystal asked.

For a moment, Laura and Perrine didn't knew, where Crystal's voice was coming from. But answer came quickly, as the quilt on Anton's chest started to move and Crystal's head appeared from under it.

"What do you need?"Crystal asked.

But Laura and Perrine simply watched Crystal.

"What was you doing under there?"Perrine asked.

"What do you think girlfriend can do to boyfriend under the quilt?"Crystal replied with question.

When the two understood, they knew what was happening here.

"I don't know if I would be able to sleep tonight now!"Laura said.

"Is it everything you wanted to know?"Crystal asked.

"No"Perrine said"Laura wants you to help her with something".

Crystal sighed.

"Okay. Wait outside. I'll dress up and come to you"she said.

The two nodded and left the room.

Crystal looked at Anton.

"Wait for me there"she said.

"I'm not going anywhere"Anton replied.

"And don't try to do anything without me. Understood?"

Anton saluted.

Crystal came off the bed and grabbed her dressing gown. She dressed it and left the room, where Laura and Perrine were waiting for her in the corridor.

"So"she started"What is the case?"

"Tell her"Perrine turned to Laura.

Laura looked at Perrine and then at Crystal. She scratched back of her head.

"Well…Um…"Laura started"There is a boy…And me and this boy…"

"You love him and you don't know if he loves you?"Crystal asked.

Laura looked at her and blinked few times.

"Exactly"she replied"How did you know?"

Crystal just threw up her arms.

"Woman intuition"she said"So. I have to help you with him?"

Laura energetically nodded her head.

"Well then. Who is he?"Crystal asked.

"It's Jacques Loraine"Laura replied.

Crystal nodded.

"The one from class 2E?"she asked.

"Yes. How did you know?"Laura asked.

"We often work with 2E. Joint trainings between our classes are pretty common"Crystal explained.

"Okay. So, where do we start?"Perrine asked.

Crystal looked at Laura. She eyed her from up to bottom.  
"I think you need something to dress, if you want to go on a date with him".

Laura's face became pale.

"Something to dress? Something like?"she asked.

"Something like elegant dress"Crystal replied.

Girl looked at down.

"But I don't have any elegant dresses"she said.

Crystal put her hand on Laura's shoulder. Girl looked at her.

"You can be calm about it"Crystal said"I can make you one".

"Really?!"Laura exclaimed with big smile on her face.

"Really. I'm good at designing clothes and making them".

Before Crystal saw it, Laura threw herself on her and hugged.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! How can I return this favor?"Laura asked.

"First"Crystal said"stop hugging me. I don't have anything under this dressing grown and you're about to tear him off me"Laura stopped"Thanks".

"And second favor?"Perrine asked.

"I always wanted to fly the Rafale".

Laura smiled.

"I can reserve one 2-seated version for that"she said.

"Great. So. See you tomorrow. Dress should be ready in the evening"Crystal said and entered her room.

Perrine and Laura went to their room.

"I just hope that Jacques won't laugh"Laura said.

"I'm sure not"Perrine provided.

Meanwhile, back in her room, Crystal looked at Anton.

"Can we continue?"he asked.

Crystal's dressing grown immediately landed on the floor.

"Of course"she said and entered the bed.

The next day…

Laura and Perrine woke up and dressed. They started to prepare for lessons, when they heard the knock to the door.

"Who can it be?"Perrine asked.

Laura threw up her arms.

"Better let's see"she said.

She came up to the door and opened them. Outside, she saw smiling Janette, with backpack in her hand.

"Janette?"Laura gave confused look"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to help you"Janette replied.

She entered the room, came up to Laura's bed and put her backpack on it. She looked at Perrine.

"You can go. I just want to talk with Laura".

Perrine gave asking look.

"Alright"she said and left.

Witch left the room and Janette looked at Laura.

"So, you want help with Jacques?"Janette asked.

Laura's jaw dropped, when she heard that.

"How did you know?"she asked.

"You know. I know every rumor that spreads around the ship"Janette replied"And friend always know, what is other friend's problem".

Laura simply tilted her head. She shook it and looked at Janette, unpacking her backpack. Inside, she had various cosmetics, including lipsticks, powders or creams. She gave asking look to her.

"What do you want to do with this?"Laura asked.

"Well"Janette took one of powders"If you want to look good for Jacques, you should take better care of yourself".

Girl looked at herself, wanting to know, what Janette meant.

"Take better care?"she asked.

Janette simply nodded.

"Listen. Man always prefer woman, which take care of herself. For example, you should get some tan. I always wondered, why are you so pale?"

"I'm not pale"Laura protested.

However, Janette didn't listened anymore. She grabbed Laura by arms and forced her to sit down in front of a desk.

"Okay, we can start"Janette said with smile.

She grabbed powder and started to powder Laura's face. Next, she took some eyeshadow and painted Laura's eyelids. Then, she used lipstick to make Laura's lips more red.

When she ended, Janette looked at her work. A smile formed on her face.

"Sweet"she said"Now, let's show new you to the others".

When she said that, the two left the room.

07:23

Maths classroom

Perrine was sitting in front of the desk, playing with the pencil. Others in the class were simply talking and walking around, or doing their homework in the last second.

"Hey, Perr"Lucien, one of their classmates, said"You know where Laura is? Lesson starts in seven minutes".

Witch simply threw up her arms.

"Janette stopped her in our room. I don't know why, but for something"she replied.

Suddenly, everyone became silent and looked towards the classroom door.

"What's going on?"Perrine asked.

But when she looked in that direction, she understood.

Laura and Janette were standing in the door. But everyone were looking only on Laura. She had more tanned skin on her face, more red lips and eyeshadow on her eyelids. In short, everyone noticed the change Janette made to her.

"Wow"Lucien sighted"She looks better than before".

Perrine looked at him and back at Laura, which was now making her way towards the desk and sat down.

Jacques, which was standing in the back of the classroom also noticed Laura. He made his way towards her and stood next to her.

"Hey"he said.

Laura almost jumped from surprise, but managed to hold herself. She looked and Jacques and smiled.

"Hi…Jacques"she replied.

He scratched back of his head.

"Listen…I wanted to tell you something…"Jacques said.

There was a moment of silence, as Jacques was preparing to say what he wanted. Finally, he took a breath and asked:

"Would you like to eat a dinner with me tomorrow?"

Another moment of silence. Everyone simply looked at Jacques and Laura looking at each other. Then, a smile appeared on Laura's face and there was a flash in her eyes.

"Sure…! I mean…"She thought for a moment and calmed herself down"Yes. Why not. Thanks, that you asked".

"Well then. Tomorrow at 18:00?"

"Yeah. That's fine for me".

He then came back on his place in the back of the classroom.

Laura, in the meantime, was simply happy about this what just happened. Jacques really proposed a dinner to her! This was probably the best day of her life.

" _I need to thank Janette for this!_ "she thought.

In that moment, Perrine came up to Laura. Girl looked at the Witch ans smiled.

"It happened!"Laura whispered"It really happened!"

"I'm really prod of you, but what Janette did to you?"Perrine asked.

Laura tilted her head, like she didn't knew what she was talking about.

"She just used some of her cosmetics on me. That's all"Laura replied.

Before Perrine could ask another question, the bell rang, marking the start of the lesson. Soon, after the teacher entered.

"Good morning, students"he said"Let's start our today's lesson".

16:05

Bar&Grill

DeGaul Squadron, except of Henri, was sitting in Bar&Grill, resting after the school day. Everyone were looking at Laura, but only Janette was doing it with satisfaction on her face. Others looked at her with confusion.

"It's a long story"Perrine said.

Charles looked at her sister.

"Laurie. Why did you…?"he wanted to ask, but Laura already answered:

"Jacques proposed me a dinner! Tomorrow! And I agreed!"she exclaimed.

Charles stopped in his asking position, while others looked at Perrine.

"It's true. I was there"she said.

Janette then laid back and put her legs on the table.

"I told you that my make up will work for him"she said with confidence.

In that moment, Hneri entered the bar and walked up to the rest of his squadron. He sat with them said:  
"I still hate biology and I won't change my mind!"

"What happened?"Saddam asked.

"Until now, I was correcting the last biology exam. It was a hell!"

He then looked around, like he was looking for someone.

"Where's Laura?"he asked.

Others simply sent confusing look to him and pointed on Laura sitting next to him. Henri looked at her and almost fell off his chair.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"he exclaimed.

"It's thanks to Janette"Laura said, pointing at her.

Henri looked at Janette with bigger confusion.

"Why did you changed her into such colorful monster?"he asked.

After hearing this, both Janette and Laura looked at him with shock on their faces. And soon, it changed into simple anger.

"Who do you call a monster?"Laura asked.

"I don't know"Henri threw up his arms"I never liked painted girls. I prefer natural ones."

"So I want to let you know, that thanks to this make up, Jacques proposed me a dinner"Laura said.

Henri whistled.

"Well. Nice"he said and sat down.

Not long after, Crystal entered the bar and started to look for Laura. When she saw her, she approached De Gaul Squadron's table. In her hands, she had a gray, square box. She handed it to Laura.

"The dress, as promised"Crystal said.

"Thank you"Laura exclaimed.

"Three hundred Euros."

All pilots at the table looked at Crystal with mixed feelings on their faces. Especially Laura, which had not enough money to pay.

"But I don't have! Please, I promise, that I'll get this money! Please!"she exclaimed.

In response, Crystal only laughed. Laura send her asking look.

"I wasn't been serious. I never take money for things I sew"she explained"Unless someone really want to pay me for this."

"Anyway, thank you"Laura said.

"No problem"Crystal replied and walked away.

Others looked at the gray box Laura now had in her hands.

"Open"Saddam said.

"Yeah, I want to see it"Janette said.

Laura didn't waited more. She simply took the box's cover and opened it. Next, she took the dress, that was inside.

"Wow"Janette said in awe.

The dress was in shade of dark blue, the same was their aircraft. It had numerous triangular embroidered on it and adding several fake roses attached to it, everything looked perfect in Laura's opinion.

"Beautiful"Laura stated.

"Well. I'm sure that now, no man will resist you"Charles said.

His sister hid the dress back and closed the box. She looked at the others.

"But I'll dress it only tomorrow. Especially for Jacques"Laura said.

"So I only hope, he won't do anything stupid to you Laurie"Saddam said"Otherwise, he would have to talk to me."

"Easy. He's a good one"Laura stated and then added"I hope."

"So. Better prepare for tomorrow"Janette said"It's gonna be a big day."

"Yeah. I know. I know"Laura said.

Next, pilots simply ate what they had to eat and returned to their rooms.

20:07

Laura and Perrine's roommate

Laura was still admiring the dress Crystal made for her. He tried it on and now stood in front of the mirror.

"Hope Jacques will like it"Laura said.

"I'm sure he will"Perrine said.

"Yeah, but…"She looked at her roommate"Perrine. I have something to ask."

Witch put down the biology coursebook and looked Laura.

"What is it?"she asked.

Laura came up to her and sat on the bed.

"Can you go to that restaurant tomorrow, too?"she asked.

Witch looked at Laura, like she asked to spend night with her.

"What do you mean by this?"she asked.

"I want you to be there and enter the action, if…something wrong happens"Laura expalined.

Perrine thought about it. Tomorrow, at the time of Laura's date, she planned to study for approaching maths exam. But she didn't wanted to let Laura down. She was her roommate and friend after all.

She finally made her decision.

"Alright. I'll be there"Perrine said.

A big smile appeared on Laura's face. She wrapped her arms around Perrine's neck and hugged her tightly. Witch started to lose her breath.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you SO MUCH!"Laura exclaimed.

"No problem…but…I can't breath!"Perrine said.

Laura immediately let Perrine go. Next, she took off her dress and put it down on her bed. Then, she started to wash the make up off.

"You're washing it off?"Perrine asked.

"For now. I'll ask Janette for new one tomorrow"she replied.

She ended washing the make up off and laid down in bed, with smile on her face.

The next day…

18:42

La Basque Restaurant

Restaurant was filled with customers. Waiters were walking from table to table, giving and getting orders. Cooks were preparing food, which was letting the delicious smell into the main hall of the restaurant.

Perrine was looking into the menu. Saddam was sitting in front of her. He still didn't knew, why she wanted him to come here.

"Can you finally tell me, what are we doing here?"Saddam asked"Because I'm sure it isn't a date, right?"

Witch put the menu down and looked at Algerian.

"Okay, you got me. I came here because of Laura"Perrine replied.

Saddam tilted his head, don't knowing what to say.

"She asked me yesterday to come here and enter the action, if something bad happens"she precised.

"Oh, when it comes to this, I can be helpful"Saddam provided.

He started to look around the restaurant. Finally, his eyes stopped at one of the tables.

"Look who's there"he said.

Perrine followed his sight and her eyes widened.

At one of the tables, they saw Janette, also looking into the menu. What was most interesting, she was there with Charles.

"It can't be coincidence"Saddam stated.

And then, Perrine's eyes landed on another table. This time, Anton and Crystal were sitting there.

"You, me, Charles and Janette can be coincidence. But Crystal and Anton? I don't think so"she agreed.

"There they are"Saddam said.

Perrine knew, who he was talking about. She turned around, to look at the entrance. There, she saw Laura and Jacques.

Jacques wore a navy blue suit, with red tie and combed hair. Laura had the same make up, that she had yesterday and her hair were untied.

"Well. Better be ready for anything"Perrine said to Saddam.

The two walked up to their table and sat down. Jacques pulled the chair, so Laura could sit down.

"Thank you"Laura said.

"Your welcome"Jacques replied.

He then sat down too. Waiter came up to them.

"Hello, what can I get you?"waiter asked.

"A spaghetti, please"Jacques said.

"Right on it. And for you?"Waiter turned to Laura.

"The same"she said.

Waiter nodded and walked away.

Laura and Jacques looked at each other. They both didn't knew how to start conversation. Jacques tried few times, but stopped.

"So…How is it?"he finally asked.

"How is it what?"Laura replied.

"To be a pilot. I mean…I'm simple ground guy. I never been in front of pilot stick"Jacques explained.

Laura nodded in understanding.

"Oh, you should try it someday. It really is awesome. Especially, when you feel like plane reacts on what you order it to do"Laura said"I can even reserve two-seat Rafale and show you how to do it."

After hearing this, Crystal, sitting few tables away, tightened grip on her menu card.

"What is it?"Anton asked.

"She promised me this first"Crsytal replied.

"Come on, it's their date. Just let him have the first one. You will ask her for it another time"Anton replied.

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"Okay, whatever"she said. She really wanted to fly the Rafale first.

Meanwhile, at Janette's and Charles' table, Janette had a smile on her face.

"She's doing well"she said.

"True. Hope she won't run away in the middle of the date"Charles stated.

Janette send asking look to him.

"What do you mean?"she asked"Why would she run away?"

"She did it a few times."

After hearing this, Janette widened her eyes.

"It's not her first date?"she asked.

"No"Charles replied"She had two dates earlier, back in elementary school. But it ended with her running away in the middle of the date."

Janette looked at Laura and Jacques.

"Let's pray she won't do it this time"she said.

Right then, waiter brought the spaghetti for Laura and Jacques.

"Thank you"Lara said.

"No problem. Thirty two Euros, please"waiter said.

Jacques reached his pocket and took his wallet.

"I'll pay"he said"Here you are."

He gave the money to the waiter, which nodded in response and walked away. Meanwhile, Jacques and Laura started.

"Everything is going good currently"Perrine said.

"Hope it will keep like that, Per"Saddam said"He probably will start telling her some stories from his life."

Perrine looked at him.

"Why do you think like that?"she asked.

Saddam threw up his arms.

"I would do it"he replied.

And Saddam was right. Not long after, Jacques started to tell the stories from his life. When he ended, Laura started laughing.

"Wait, really?"she asked.

"Yeah. I still don't know, how he did it. One time he was with us and after a second, he was standing on of the church"Jacques said.

"What happened next?"Laura wanted to know.

"We told him to get off of that roof. And you know what he did?"Jacques said.

Girl shook her head.

"He jumped"he replied.

This made smile disappear from Laura's face.

"Oh God, did he…"She was unable to end.  
Jacques shook his head.

"No, he didn't hit the ground"he said"His belt hooked up on the flag pole."

"Phew. So it was close"Laura stated.

"Well…No actually."

Laura tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"she asked.

"This belt was pretty elastic. It worked like bungee and he flew all the way to the lake. Fortunately, he managed to swim out of it"Jacques ended.

Again, Laura started laughing.  
"What kind of party was that?"she asked, when she stopped.

"Communion"Jacques said.

This time, they both erupted with laughs.

Bu they didn't noticed, that Perrine and Saddam are laughing too.

"Pretty interesting story, I must say"Perrine said.

"And funny"Saddam added.

Next few minutes were pretty quiet, as Laura and Jacques were eating their spaghetti. The ones who came here to watch their date were eating too.

Laura then noticed, that Jacques is looking at her with, as she stated, strange look. She sent asking look to him.

"What is it?"she asked.

"Well…"Jacques said, putting his fork down.

Laura did the same and they looked at each other.

"I wanted to talk about your make up"he said.

"Oh, my make up, huh?"Laura said coquettishly.

Jacques gulped.  
"Well. You see…"he started"I…"

"You what?"Laura asked.

Boy didn't knew how to say. But finally, he stated, that he should tell it straight. So he took a deep breath and said:  
"I don't like it."

There was a moment of silence between them. Not around, because whole restaurant was filled with voices of other people talking.

Not soon after, tears appeared in Laura's eyes. Her make up started to smear, as tears went down her cheeks.

"But…I thought that…you would like me more with it…"she whispered.

She then hid her face in her hands and started crying. Saddam and Charles, seeing it, wanted to come up to the two and tell something to Jacques, but were stopped.

"Wait"both Janette and Perrine said.

Jacques grabbed Laura's hands and looked in her eyes.

"Please, don't cry"he asked.

"Why?"Laura asked"You said you don't like my make up."

Boy squeezed her hands.  
"And this is the reason to cry?"he asked"I was wondering, why did you put on this make up anyway."

Laura managed to take her hands out of Jacques grip. She looked at them and saw, that they were painted in the mix of colors of her make up. Jacques reached her pocket and gave a pack of wipes.

"Here you are"he said.

"Thank you"Laura replied"I put this make up on, because…I wanted you to notice me and ask me out…"

But before she ended, Jacques was already shaking his head.

"This make up is not the reason why I did it"he said.

"No?"Laura asked, not hiding surprise.

"No. You don't need make up"Jacques stated"You're beautiful without it. And I asked you out yesterday, because…I wanted to do it for a long time."

Girl was really surprised by what she just heard.

"So…why didn't you done this earlier?"she asked.

Jacques threw up his arms and replied:

"Because I was afraid, that you will reject me."

"Very funny"Laura stated"Because I was thinking the same."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's why I didn't asked you out either."

There was a longer moment of silence between the too, but also others fell silent. Finally, Jacques and Laura started laughing.

"So it seems like we didn't had to be worried at all"Laura stated"I probably look like a big mess right now, aren't I?"

"No"Jacques replied and hen added"You look much worse."

And the two laughed again.

"Okay. Let me help you"Jacques said and took one wipe, to help Laura cleaning her face.

"Thank you"she said, when they ended"So. Wanna stay here?"

"Not at all. I spent all money I had for this spaghetti"Jacques said"Let's go."

They stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Perrine and Saddam came up to their table. Janette, Charles, Crystal and Anton joined them.

"I can't understand"Janette said"He doesn't like my make up?"

"This is what you shocked you the most?"Saddam asked.

"But…he doesn't like MY make up?"Janette asked again, not paying attention on Saddam.

Perrine then turned to Crystal:

"What are you doing here anyway?"

Crystal only threw up her arms.

"Nothing. I wanted to know, if he'll say something about that dress"Crystal replied.

"I just wanted to visit such prestige restaurant"Anton said.

Crystal hit his arm.

"You want to prey on my money like that?"she asked.

"No. Not at all"Anton replied.

"And you?"Perrine asked Janette.

"I wanted to know, if my make up will actually work"Janette replied"But he doesn't like MY MAKE UP?"

Charles patter her arm.

"Janette. Make up is not everything"he said.

Janette looked at him, like he was mentally sick.

"No shit, man"she said.

"You know what? Let's go too"Crystal said"We probably all ate or found out, what we wanted to know."

"Yeah. We can go"Anton said.

"Doesn't like MY MAKE UP!"Janette continued.

But all of them left the restaurant, just like Jacques and Laura did.

XXX

 **And here another story ends. But of course, more school chapters are on their way, so be ready. In the next one, we visit JSDF High School.**


	26. School Chapter 6

**And as I said, this time we'll focus on events from JSDF High School. Events in this and few following chapters will take place after the failed offensive over Fulda Gap, some time after 4** **th** **School Fleet left Europe for Egypt.**

 **So, without further extending.**

School Chapter 6

,,Horror guard"

October 4, 2022

15:32

JDS _Isoroku Yamamoto,_ Bar&Grill

Sakamot and Takei were sitting in Bar&Grill, eating some hamburgers and drink cola. Although it's been almost a week since the failure over Fulda Gap, bad mood on the ship was still visible. There was not so much talks as always and frustration was clearly visible on everyone's faces.

Takei noticed the same on Sakamoto's face.

"You're all still about that?"she asked.

Sakamoto nodded.

"Sure. This offensive had to finally break Chinese resistance in Europe, open our way to Berlin and after Berlin, take Moscow and fully liberate Europe"She shook her head"And it turned out to be a failure."

Witch then put her hands on sides of her head and supported it on her elbows.

"To it, we lost Kotaro, which completely devastated Misaka. It could be only worse"she said.

"Hey, it's not your fault"Takei tried to calm Sakamoto down.

"I know, but…Hell, since we arrived here, it was the first operation we failed"Sakamoto replied.

She took sip of cola and again looked at Takei.

"Anyway. Now, I have to take care of not failing more".

Takei tilted her head after hearing that.  
"I'm sure it's gonna be easy for you?"she asked.

"I don't know. We'll live, we'll see"her friend replied.

"But I'm sure about one thing. With your command, this squadron will surely become the best in this war".

Sakamoto just threw up her arms.

She drunk her cola and ate her hamburger.

"Anyway. See you later."

"You know? My room is actually on the way to the elevator. We can walk there together"Takei proposed.

Sakamoto threw up her arms.

"Okay. It's okay with me"she said.

Takei then ate and drunk everything too. They then left the Bar&Grill.

15:57

Deck 4 corridor

As they were walking down the corridor, they were talking about things, that interested Mio the most.

"And by the way. How is it in our world?"she asked.

"Not as bad as you could think"Takei replied"Damage you already done to Neuroi is done and they can't bounce back. They're loosing several fights everyday."

"Good to hear it"Sakamoto agreed.

Right then, as they were walking down the corridor, they passed by Osamu's room.

"Maybe we'll see what Osamu's doing?"Sakamoto proposed.

"Why not?"Takei replied.

Two Witches stopped and looked inside. They saw Osamu sitting in front of his computer and playing a game on it.

"What are you doing?"Sakamoto asked.

Osamu paused the game and turned around.

"Nothing special, boss"he replied"Just playing some FNAF".

"Playing…what?"Takei asked.

"Sit down"Osamu said, pointing at his bed.

Witches did what he said and sat down on the bed. Osamu turned around and unpaused the game.

"I play Five Nights at Freddy's"he explained"It's a game, where as nigh security guard, you have to survive several nights in the title restaurant".

"Survive from what?"Sakamoto asked.

Osamu then checked the cameras in the game and looked in both door. Next, he returned to explaining:

"Well. In this restaurant, there's a band of Animatronics, which in the day plays music. However, during the night, the Animatronics comes to live to kill".

After hearing this, Witches looked at each other.

"You really like such games?"Takei asked.

"I simply love survival horrors. I'm surprised, that you didn't noticed"Osamu said.

"How could we notice?"Takei wanted to know.

In response, Osamu simply pointed behind himself. Sakamoto and Takei turned around and understood, what he was talking about.

All over his room's walls, they could see 'Resident Evil' posters and on shelfs, there were figures of various horror games characters and monsters, like Mr. X from 'Resident Evil 2'. There also were numerous boxes with the games themselves.

"How couldn't we notice? I never noticed these things"Sakamoto said.

Osamu simply threw up his arms.

"I have to know? You tell me"he said.

"So maybe we would not interrupt you anymore?"Takei asked.

But the green-haired boy shook his head.

"If you want, you can look"he said"This won't disrupt me. You also can play, if you ask me".

Witches simply threw their arms up and looked at the computer's screen.

Some time later…

After some time of playing and watching, Sakamoto and Takei already knew all Animatronics and knew, how to play the game.

"This was both pretty fun and pretty scary"Takei stated.

"Hell yeah. I always like these thrills coming down my back, while playing survival horrors. Nice you liked them too"Osamu replied.

Sakamoto threw up her arms.

"Anyway. We have to go. I have a night guard today"she said.

Takei looked at her.

"What?"she asked.

"I signed up to school's security services. Tonight, I have a duty on the Hangar Deck. Fortunately, only from 17:00 till 20:00"she explained.

Next, she noticed, that Takei scratches back of her head.

"What is it, Takei?"Sakamoto asked.

"You see…Yesterday I signed to security services too. And I also have duty on Hangar Deck today. And in the same time"Takei replied.

Sakamoto looked at her and threw up her arms.

"Okay. That doesn't matter anyway. If we have the night duty in the same time, than yeah. It's nothing"she stated"Also, I can teach you some stuff about this job".

"Okay then. I would like to see, how you work".

Two Witches left the room, while Osamu returned to his computer.

He decided to look on the school's Facebook profile. When he opened it, he noticed one thing, that make him grin.

"This is going to be fun"he stated.

19:02

Hangar Deck, Gatehouse

Later that night, Sakamot and Takei were sitting in Hangar Deck Gatehouse, where all security equipment was located. They were also wearing their security uniforms, in form of navy blue jackets and skirts.

"I didn't knew this job is so boring"Takei stated.

Sakamoto looked at her from behind the newspaper she was reading and threw up her arms.

"This is how this job simply is. Nobody tries to steal anything from here, because, well. There is nothing to steal from this hangar"she replied.

"So why there is security needed?"

"Because, as headmaster said, 'you never know'".

Right then, a school courier passed by the gatehouse. And, when they saw what he was carrying on the trolley, they widened their eyes.

"Is that…Freddy?"Takei asked.

Courier stopped in the door and looked at them.

"Yup. The same Freddy from FNAF"courier replied"Straight from Freddy Fazbear's Pizza".

"I thought it's only a game"Sakamoto said.

"Game, based on urban legend"courier said.

"And how did this got here?"Takei again turned her eyes on Freddy.

Courier patted the head of Freddy.

"One of the restaurants was in headmaster's hometown. He saw these on eBay and bought three: Freddy, Fox and Bonnie. He felt a little nostalgic, I think".

He grabbed the handles of his trolley.  
"But well. I now have to put this in magazine. Fox and Bonnie are already there. So see ya".

Courier then left.

Witches looked at each other.

"He said it's based on urban legend"Sakamoto said"And it means, that something might actually happen".

"What even is urban legend?"Takei asked.

"Some legend popular among normal people, not created by years long traditions. So, simply, something created by common thinking of some people"Sakamoto explained.

"So…it's rather not true?"

"Sometimes, urban legends were true".

Then, thrills came down their spines.

"Anyway. We have to work only until 20:00. So this is going to be someone else problem"Sakamoto stated with smile.

But then, no one other, that their boss, stood in the door and looked at them, with smile on his face.

"Listen, ladies, there is a situation"the boss said"The guys, that were supposed to change you for the night time has fallen ill and can't do it".

Witches looked at each other. But their boss didn't ended:

"So it seems, like you two are working late! Haha!"

Next, he simply walked away, with smile and laugh still on his face. Sakamoto made a tormented expression and said:

"Ah, shit".

23:01

Four hours later, Witches were still sitting in the gatehouse. Sakamoto was still reading the newspaper, while Takei was nervously looking around.

"You really think these Animatronics will come to life?"Sakamoto asked.

"Yeah…"Takei replied unsteadily.

"I, honestly, stopped to think like that two hours ago. If they haven't came to live till now, then why should they do it now?"

But as Sakamoto said it, lights in the gatehouse turned off. Only source of light now, were the screens, with camera views on them.

The two gulped.

"What just happened?"Sakamoto asked.

"Better check the camera view from the storage"Takei said.

Sakamoto looked on the said camera view and felt, as cold hand grips her throat.

Animatronics weren't present there.

"Oh shit"Sakamoto said"Better find them now!"

The two then started to look from screen to screen, looking for the Animatronics on the screens.

"I see Bonnie. She's in the kitchen"Takei reported.

"And I see Fox"Sakamoto said"He's in the gym".

But then, she noticed one thing. One, which made her gulp again.

"But I can't find Freddy. Where can he be?"she asked.

In that moment, Takei started to lift her pointing finger and tried to say something, but she simply couldn't. Sakamoto saw fear in her eyes, nodded and pointed behind her.

"H-He's standing right behind me, aren't he?"

Takei nodded in response.

"Yeah. Thought so"Sakamoto said and started to turn around on her chair.

And when she ended, she looked straight into Freddy's eyes. Animatronic looked at her and gave his terrifying laugh.

Witches gave the scream of fear and quickly jumped up from their chairs, leaving the gatehouse as fast as possible. Freddy followed them.

"Let's go to the hangar! We can hide between the fighters!"Sakamoto said.

"Good idea!"Takei replied.

The two then turned towards the Hangar and quickly ran inside. They started to run between fighters.

Few seconds later, Freddy entered the Hangar too. He looked around, but couldn't find his victims. Next, he started to walk between them.

After he passed a two-seated version of F-2, Sakamoto and Takei looked out from the cockpit and saw, as Freddy passes the fighter.

"They won't come to life, huh?"Takei asked.

"You're gonna remind this to me now?"Sakamoto asked"Better think of way to survive the night, with that thing following us".

Takei threw up her arms.

"But I don't know, what to do. It's the first time I have to run away from Animatronic"she replied.

"Me too. But it has to have some weaknesses"Sakamoto stated.

They then hid again, because they saw, as Animatronic returns and again passes by their hideout.

"Shit. If he's going to circle around like that…"Takei stated.

"I know. We'll be screwed"Sakamoto agreed.

Takei then started to look around. Right then, she saw an F-2 with it's engines pointed at the wall. And idea popped in her head.

"I think I know what to do"she said.

Sakamoto looked at her friend.

"What?"

"You see that F-2?"Takei asked and Sakamoto nodded"I'll try to get inside. You find Freddy and lead him behind the fighter".

"And?"

"And then, I will turn the engines on and burn that robot down".

501st second-in-command was thinking about it for a little and finally nodded her head.

"This might work"she said.  
"I know. So better let's try"Takei replied.

They carefully looked around and when they stated, that they are safe to go, they jumped out of the cockpit and landed on the ground.

Only to be surprised by Freddy jumping on them from behind the fighter they were hiding behind.

Witches simply screamed and started to run away from Freddy. However, not in the direction of fighter noticed by Takei.

"And that's my plan for you!"Takei shouted.

"Stop screaming and keep running!"Sakamoto replied.

Next, they turned into smaller corridor. Freddy was still following them. Sakamoto pulled Takei's arm and the two quickly jumped into nearby storage.

Freddy, of course, entered there behind them. However, instead of finding them inside, he saw only numerous props for theater. He looked around, looking for his victims. But they weren't present there.

Right then, sheet behind him lifted up and before Freddy orientated, Sakamoto covered his eyes with rag. Animatronic started to sway around the storage, while Sakamoto and Takei ran away.

When they continued to run down the corridor, a new idea to stop Freddy appeared in her head.

"Takei, I think I got it"she said.

"So. Tell me. How do we have to stop that thing?"Takei asked.

"We just need a lot of time and a lot of things"Sakamoto replied"Trust me, it will work. Now listen".

And then, she started to explain her plan.

00:12

One hour later, Freddy was still looking for Takei and Skamoto. But, somehow, the two disappeared.

"Where the hell are they?"Freddy asked himself.

In that moment, he got hit with something. He looked on the floor and saw a boot. Next, he looked into the corridor, from which the boot flew. There, he saw Takei.

"Want to catch me?"she asked"Then come at me".

Without hesitation, Freddy started to charge at her.

Takei quickly turned around and started to run away from the Animatronic. She looked behind. Fortunately, Freddy was a bit slower than her.

" _Hope your plan will work, Mio_ "she thought.

"Alright, Takei. Let him follow you"Mio said in communicators.

Strike Witches second-in-command was watching Takei on the security tablet, which let her to look at view from just single camera, but Takei had a transponder with her, so Mio knew, which camera she has to turn to.

To it, they also had their Witches communicators, so they could easily communicate, without Freddy knowing it.

"The first trap is behind that turn. You know, what to do"Mio instructed.

Takei nodded. She turned and jumped over the red laser of movement detector.

Freddy, however, was not so lucky and ran right into the movement detector, which resulted in a bag of flour falling on him. Before he orientated, he was all white and coughing.

"Come on!"he whispered.

Next, he continued his chase after Takei.

Witch looked behind her and saw, that Freddy is behind her again. She tried to run faster, but she was already running at full speed.

"Second trap, right in front of you!"Mio communicated.

Takei looked in front of her and saw a cord. She again jumped over it. And again, Freddy didn't which resulted in him cutting the cord.

Right then, a toolbox fell on his head. He started to massage it.

"Really?!"he exclaimed, but still quiet enough, so Takei couldn't hear him.

"I think these your traps are actually working!"Takei said in communicator.

"Of course they are. Now, I want you to lead him right towards me. We will finally take care of him".

"On it".

Witch once again looked behind her. Freddy was now far behind her. He would not be able to catch her now.

She turned in the side corridor. On it's end, she met with Mio.

"He's right behind me"Takei said.

"Good. Take the rope"Mio said.

Two Witches then grabbed the rope laying on the floor. Meanwhile, Freddy ran into the corridor. Hearing, that his footsteps are closer and closer, the two started counting:

"Three…Two…One!"

And they pulled the rope.

Freddy saw as the rope lifts up, but was unable to stop. He collided with it, tripped, rolled on the floor and hit his head in the wall.

"Ouch!"he exclaimed.

After hearing this, two Witches looked at each other.

"Wait a minute"Sakamoto said"Since when does Animatronics shout like teenagers?"

Next, they both approached Freddy, which was now sitting on the floor. Takei grabbed his head and pulled it off…

…only to reveal Osamu's face under it.

"OSAMU?!"the two exclaimed.

"Hey. What's up?"Osamu asked"Ouch, my head! Why you used that toolbox?"

"We have better question"Takei said"Why was you chasing us like that?!"

Osamu threw up his arms and started to stand up.

"On school's Facebook page, I saw that headmaster bought these Animatronics. So I thought, that because you played my copy of FNAF, I might do a simple joke"he explained.

"You know we were terrified?"Mio asked.

"I know. And it was my goal".

He again massaged his head.

"But I think, that we're even. I scared you and you almost broke my head. And suffocated me with flour".

Witches again looked at each other and smiled.  
"Yeah. We're even, that's for sure"Sakamoto stated.

"And I'm sure, I'll remember this night for long"Takei added.

And next, all three erupted with laugh. They were laughing for few seconds, until Takei asked:

"Now, tell us. Who else did you engaged into this?"

Osamu looked at her with asking look.

"What do you mean?"he asked.

"Well. You was Freddy. Then who was Fox and who was Bonnie?"Sakamoto asked.

But Osamu simply threw up his arms.

"I don't know, what you're talking about. When I left the storage, they were still standing there".

Witches looked at each other, then back at Osamu.

"Wait a second. Then who…?"Sakamoto asked.

But before she ended, they heard quick footsteps. They looked in it's direction and saw Bonnie standing at the end of the corridor. Fox was standing next to her. Thrills came down all three spines.

"Oh no…"Takei whispered.

Then, Bonnie and Fox charged at them, giving the terrifying screech. The three quickly hugged each other and started screaming.

And then, Sakamoto woke up. She was sweating and heavy breathing. She looked around her room. On the clock, she saw, that the hour is five minutes after midnight.

"So it was all just a dream"she whispered"I think I will never play any survival horror anymore".

Witch laid back down and covered with quilt.

So she didn't saw Freddy smiling at her in the dark.

XXX

 **School Chapter about Fusoan Witches done.** **And with it, FNAFs cameo. I was so keen on doing this chapter. And I think about doing some more cameos in School Chapters. Maybe it will be interesting.**

 **Anyway, that's all for today. See you in the next.**


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